Trial reportBMC medicine2026
Efficacy and long-term engagement of a WeChat-integrated modality versus a traditional quitline on smoking cessation in China: a randomised controlled trial.
Trial report in BMC medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundDigital health interventions offer a promising opportunity to innovate traditional cessation services. Multi-component digital approaches show potential for greater effectiveness than traditional methods, though optimal integration strategies and engagement dynamics are still unclear. This study evaluated 'Way to Quit' (WQ)-a theory-guided, integrated modality based on WeChat (a popular social media platform)-compared with a quitline, with particular attention to long-term engagement and its impact on abstinence.
methodsA two-arm, open-label, randomised controlled trial was conducted in Beijing, China, from December 1, 2022 to June 13, 2024. We recruited adult smokers intending to quit within one month via online advertisements. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1; using various block sizes) to either a multicomponent WeChat-based intervention (WQ)-integrating a mini-programme (application-like service), a chat group (peer support) and an official account (information channel)-or telephone counselling (Quitline), both lasting four weeks (one pre-quit week and three post-quit weeks). All participants received a four-week supply of nicotine gum by mail for on-demand use. Follow-up assessments were completed at one, three, six, and twelve months after the initiation of the intervention via telephone or online. The primary outcome was biochemically verified 7-day point prevalence abstinence (PPA) at one month. Analyses followed a modified intention-to-treat (mITT) approach.
resultsA total of 460 adult smokers were enrolled and randomised (WQ: n = 230; Quitline: n = 230), with 414 included in the mITT analysis (WQ: 195; Quitline: 219). At one month, biochemically verified 7-day PPA was 41.5% in the WQ group and 27.9% in the Quitline group (RR, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.14-1.95; P = 0.004). Mini-programme engagement peaked initially but declined after three months, from 99.0% in one month to 6.7% in eight months. Greater usage during the first three months was dose-dependently associated with higher long-term abstinence rates (3-, 6-, and 12-month 7-day PPA), with all P
conclusionsThe WQ modality showed superior short-term efficacy compared with the quitline, supporting its potential as an alternative or adjunct to traditional cessation services. Although long-term engagement remained challenging, early engagement intensity within the first three months strongly predicted twelve-month abstinence.
trial registrationThe trial was preregistered at Chinese Clinical Trial Registry Identifier ( https://www.chictr.org.cn/bin/project/edit?pid=179013 , ID: ChiCTR2200066427). Registration date: December 5, 2022.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.