Increasing Tobacco Use Cessation: Mass Media—Cessation Contests

Task Force Findings

Cessation contests are short-duration, community-wide events using mass media for the promotion, recruitment, and motivation of tobacco product users to commit to quit on a targeted cessation date or during a specified period. The Task Force evaluation included contests that offered additional incentives for participation and successful cessation, as well as targeted quit events conducted without additional incentives.

The Task Force review identified only one qualifying study of cessation contests, an insufficient number of studies for assessing the effectiveness of the intervention. Most of the identified studies provided assessments of cessation rates in contest participants without a comparison population or group. The Task Force conclusion was based on (1) too few studies, and (2) insufficient comparison/control groups.

*From the following publication:

Task Force on Community Preventive Services. Recommendations regarding interventions to reduce tobacco use and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. [PDF - 1.46KB] Am J Prev Med 2001;20(2S):10-5.

Review completed: May 2000