“Like you are fooling yourself”: how the “Stoptober” temporary abstinence campaign supports Dutch smokers attempting to quit
Abstract Background The Stoptober temporary abstinence campaign challenges smokers to engage in a collective quit attempt for 28 days. The campaign is based on social contagion theory, SMART (i.e., Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-sensitive) goal setting and PRIME (i.e., Plans, R...
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doaj-d8fce5567d374527b90c8046361b2fae2020-11-25T02:09:21ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582019-05-0119111010.1186/s12889-019-6833-y“Like you are fooling yourself”: how the “Stoptober” temporary abstinence campaign supports Dutch smokers attempting to quitSigrid A. Troelstra0Anton E. Kunst1Janneke Harting2Department of Public Health, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam UMC, University of AmsterdamDepartment of Public Health, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam UMC, University of AmsterdamDepartment of Public Health, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam UMC, University of AmsterdamAbstract Background The Stoptober temporary abstinence campaign challenges smokers to engage in a collective quit attempt for 28 days. The campaign is based on social contagion theory, SMART (i.e., Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-sensitive) goal setting and PRIME (i.e., Plans, Responses, Impulses, Motives and Evaluations) theory. Although Stoptober was found to yield impressive 28-day quit rates, relapse rates remained substantial. Therefore, we examined how Stoptober supported smokers in their attempt to quit and how the campaign’s effectiveness could be strengthened. Methods In 2016, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 23 Stoptober participants in the Netherlands. Data were analyzed thematically. Results Respondents explained how social contagion-based components had familiarized them with Stoptober, motivated them to participate, and created a pro-smoking cessation social norm. Setting SMART goals was reported as “fooling yourself”, since it distracted respondents from their goal of quitting for good and helped them perceive that temporary abstinence was achievable. Respondents also illustrated the usefulness of PRIME theory. They typically used an individual selection of available supports that varied over time. To achieve long-term abstinence, respondents expressed the need for additional social network support and interactive, personalized and professional support during and after the campaign. Conclusions Stoptober supports smokers in their attempts to quit and generally according to the campaign’s theoretical principles. Added to available evidence, this finding supports the continuation and wider implementation of Stoptober, while connecting the campaign to social networks and regular smoking-cessation services to help improve long-term abstinence rates.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12889-019-6833-ySmoking cessationInterventionStoptoberQualitative researchTemporary abstinence campaigns |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Sigrid A. Troelstra Anton E. Kunst Janneke Harting |
spellingShingle |
Sigrid A. Troelstra Anton E. Kunst Janneke Harting “Like you are fooling yourself”: how the “Stoptober” temporary abstinence campaign supports Dutch smokers attempting to quit BMC Public Health Smoking cessation Intervention Stoptober Qualitative research Temporary abstinence campaigns |
author_facet |
Sigrid A. Troelstra Anton E. Kunst Janneke Harting |
author_sort |
Sigrid A. Troelstra |
title |
“Like you are fooling yourself”: how the “Stoptober” temporary abstinence campaign supports Dutch smokers attempting to quit |
title_short |
“Like you are fooling yourself”: how the “Stoptober” temporary abstinence campaign supports Dutch smokers attempting to quit |
title_full |
“Like you are fooling yourself”: how the “Stoptober” temporary abstinence campaign supports Dutch smokers attempting to quit |
title_fullStr |
“Like you are fooling yourself”: how the “Stoptober” temporary abstinence campaign supports Dutch smokers attempting to quit |
title_full_unstemmed |
“Like you are fooling yourself”: how the “Stoptober” temporary abstinence campaign supports Dutch smokers attempting to quit |
title_sort |
“like you are fooling yourself”: how the “stoptober” temporary abstinence campaign supports dutch smokers attempting to quit |
publisher |
BMC |
series |
BMC Public Health |
issn |
1471-2458 |
publishDate |
2019-05-01 |
description |
Abstract Background The Stoptober temporary abstinence campaign challenges smokers to engage in a collective quit attempt for 28 days. The campaign is based on social contagion theory, SMART (i.e., Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-sensitive) goal setting and PRIME (i.e., Plans, Responses, Impulses, Motives and Evaluations) theory. Although Stoptober was found to yield impressive 28-day quit rates, relapse rates remained substantial. Therefore, we examined how Stoptober supported smokers in their attempt to quit and how the campaign’s effectiveness could be strengthened. Methods In 2016, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 23 Stoptober participants in the Netherlands. Data were analyzed thematically. Results Respondents explained how social contagion-based components had familiarized them with Stoptober, motivated them to participate, and created a pro-smoking cessation social norm. Setting SMART goals was reported as “fooling yourself”, since it distracted respondents from their goal of quitting for good and helped them perceive that temporary abstinence was achievable. Respondents also illustrated the usefulness of PRIME theory. They typically used an individual selection of available supports that varied over time. To achieve long-term abstinence, respondents expressed the need for additional social network support and interactive, personalized and professional support during and after the campaign. Conclusions Stoptober supports smokers in their attempts to quit and generally according to the campaign’s theoretical principles. Added to available evidence, this finding supports the continuation and wider implementation of Stoptober, while connecting the campaign to social networks and regular smoking-cessation services to help improve long-term abstinence rates. |
topic |
Smoking cessation Intervention Stoptober Qualitative research Temporary abstinence campaigns |
url |
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12889-019-6833-y |
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