Interventions
weight gain
AIDS, COMPLICATIONS
Both intervention and control groups were given treatment as usual, and neither were restricted from using other available smoking cessation aids. The intervention group were in addition given access to a text messaging intervention. Treatment as usual was in this trial defined as follows. For participants recruited through online advertisements, it was defined as referral to a nationally available smoking cessation helpline and a nationally organised website with general information about smoking and health. For participants recruited through primary health care units, it was defined as the same type of referral as participants recruited online, with additional referral from the primary health care units to have a conversation with a nurse or smoking cessation specialist about smoking cessation and health.Two versions of the intervention were available: one general version and one that was tailored specifically for individuals undergoing elective surgery. Both versions were based on findings from our previous research [Over the first few weeks, participants received 2–4 messages per day, which was reduced to 2 messages per day during the middle part of the intervention, and further reduced to 1 message per day during the latter part of the intervention. The content of the messages was primarily informational and encouraging, and some messages asked participants to do specific tasks, such as throw away ashtrays. None of the messages asked participants to respond, but participants could request extra supportive messages by sending a text message with one of three keywords: weight, relapse, or craving. A message was then sent back to participants with specific information about potential weight gain, what to do if one relapses, or help if they were experiencing nicotine cravings. Unique for the elective surgery version was that additional messages about complications and recovery from surgery were included, and some of the messages included hyperlinks to web-based modules which contained materials specifically designed for the surgery context. Please see the study protocol for more details [