Accessibility statement

Adapting a behavioural support intervention for smokeless tobacco cessation in South Asians

We now have a stop smokeless tobacco app - please see below.

Smokeless tobacco (SLT) is a product containing tobacco, placed in the mouth or nose but not burned at the time of use. Consumed worldwide, a wide variety of SLT products are available, which are chewed, sucked or applied to gums and teeth. Its use is particularly common among people of South Asian origin including those living in the UK. Research shows that behavioural support helps people who are addicted to smokeless tobacco to quit. However, this research, mainly conducted in the US and European populations, is of little relevance to South Asians who use more addictive and hazardous products.

A bespoke Behaviour Change Intervention (BCI) was developed to help South Asians quit smokeless tobacco. The BCI was piloted in Pakistan and in the UK among SLT users and also for the feasibility of delivery by the providers. This project was funded by the MRC Public Health Interventions Development Scheme (PHIND). The project is led by Kamran Siddiqi.

The BCI resource consists of a practice manual and interactive slides. The interactive slides provide a set of different scenarios using photographic materials inviting a dialogue between the provider and the SLT user. Overall, activities within the BCI include raising awareness of the harms of SLT use and benefits of quitting, boosting clients’ motivation and self-efficacy, and developing strategies to manage their triggers, withdrawal symptoms, and relapse should that occur.

As part of this project, a digital app was also developed for use by providers to support their clients, for quitting SLT use. The app ‘Stop Smokeless Tobacco’ is made available for free by clicking on the links in the 'app' section below.

Funding

Funder(s):

MRC Public Health Intervention Development (PHIND)
Start Date: April 2014
End Date: September  2015

Members

Internal Staff

External Collaborators

App

Provide support to your clients, for quitting smokeless tobacco use today, by using our FREE ‘Stop Smokeless Tobacco’ app.

Purpose: Smokeless tobacco cessation
Users: The cessation providers, advisors, healthcare professionals, community health workers etc.
Target population: Smokeless tobacco users

The Stop Smokeless Tobacco app incorporates behaviour change techniques found effective for tobacco cessation made easily accessible with this digital app to help you provide behavioural support to your clients where and when needed.

The bespoke behavioural support for smokeless tobacco users can help you provide support to individuals who are willing to give up their tobacco use

With features such as:

  • a step-by-step quit tobacco programme taking your client through their pre-quit, quit and post-quit stages
  • interactive slides aimed at challenging common beliefs related to chewing tobacco
  • 16 informative slides explaining the detrimental effects of chewing smokeless tobacco
  • raising awareness of the harms of smokeless tobacco use and benefits of quitting; boosting clients’ motivation and self-efficacy and developing strategies to manage their triggers; withdrawal symptoms and relapse (should that occur) with recommended courses of action
  • multiple languages supported including: English, Urdu, Hindi, Gujerati, Nepali and Bengali
  • advisor prompts and techniques to aid explanation of the key messages
  • client interactive slides for personalised use during myths busting, triggers management and withdrawal symptoms management advice.

For more details on providing behavioural support to your client using this resource, please download the practice manual.

The stop smokeless tobacco intervention is also made available as pdf for download. The intervention resource consists of the following:

  • Practice manual
  • Intervention flipbook (for patient-provider interaction)
  • Client booklet (for client to take home at first interaction)
  • Client record form
  • Calendar (for client to take home on their quit date).

In English

In Urdu

In Gujerati

In Bengali

Public Health and Society Research in the Department of Health Sciences