Chatbot Counselling for Smoking Cessation in Youths

Development of a Chatbot for Smoking Cessation Counselling for Youth Smokers Enrolled in the Youth Quitline: a Pilot Randomised Trial

The goal of this pilot trial is to develop and examine the trial feasibility and acceptability of a chatbot for smoking cessation in youth smokers. Specific aims include:

1. To assess how many youth smokers accept the invitation to participate in the trial
2. To assess the retention of the participants through 6 months after treatment initiation
3. To assess the acceptability of the chatbot in terms of participants' compliance and usability rating of the chatbot.
4. To estimate the intervention effect on abstinence outcomes
5. To explore the participants' perception and experiences in the chatbot

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Hong Kong residents aged 25 years or younger
2. Used a tobacco product in the past 30 days, including cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco products, etc.
3. Able to communicate in Chinese
4. Own a smartphone with internet access

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Diagnosed with a mental disease or on regular psychotropic drugs, or
2. Participating in other ongoing smoking cessation studies.