Appeal of Tobacco Quitline Services Among Low-Income Smokers

Abstract

Introduction: State tobacco quitlines are delivering cessation assistance through an increasingly diverse range of channels. However, offerings vary from state to state, many smokers are unaware of what is available, and it is not yet clear how much demand exists for different types of assistance. In particular, the demand for online and digital cessation interventions among low-income smokers, who bear a disproportionate burden of tobacco-related disease, is not well understood.

Methods: We examined interest in using 13 tobacco quitline services in a racially diverse sample of 1,605 low-income smokers in 9 states who had called a 2-1-1 helpline and participated in an ongoing intervention trial from June 2020 through September 2022. We classified services as standard (used by ≥90% of state quitlines [eg, calls from a quit coach, nicotine replacement therapy, printed cessation booklets]) or nonstandard (mobile app, personalized web, personalized text, online chat with quit coach).

Results: Interest in nonstandard services was high. Half or more of the sample reported being very or somewhat interested in a mobile app (65%), a personalized web program (59%), or chatting online with quit coaches (49%) to help them quit. In multivariable regression analyses, younger smokers were more interested than older smokers in digital and online cessation services, as were women and smokers with greater nicotine dependence.

Conclusion: On average, participants were very interested in at least 3 different cessation services, suggesting that bundled or combination interventions might be designed to appeal to different groups of low-income smokers. Findings provide some initial hints about potential subgroups and the services they might use in a rapidly changing landscape of behavioral interventions for smoking cessation.