CONFERENCE PROCEEDING
A mobile application to help young people stop using tobacco products
 
 
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Tuulia Råmark and Heidi Löflund Kuusela, Cancer Society of Finland, Helsinki, Finland
 
 
Publication date: 2023-04-25
 
 
Corresponding author
Tiina Kiviluoma   

Tuulia Råmark and Heidi Löflund-Kuusela, Cancer Society of Finland, Helsinki, Finland
 
 
Tob. Prev. Cessation 2023;9(Supplement):A133
 
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
Introduction:
Although the use of tobacco products has generally decreased in Finland, day-to-day use of the products is still common, especially among young people studying at vocational institutions. The Erovirasto mobile application has been developed so that young people using the products can receive low-threshold support for quitting.

Material and Methods:
The Finnish-language Erovirasto mobile application was released in 2021. The application includes a 30-day program for those wishing to quit. This comprises day-to-day support and encouragement using media such as fact sheets, tests, and videos. The application’s content comes from theories of behavior change, national recommendations on tobacco use cessation and expert knowledge. The application has been evaluated by eight young users of tobacco or snuff. This test group used the application for 30 days as an aid as they tried to give up smoking or snuff-use. The evaluation included an online diary, interviews and a final questionnaire. In addition, the application itself collects user data and feedback.

Results:
The young people who participated in the evaluation (n=8) felt that the application supports motivation and offers practical tips to support quitting. 63% of the young people (n=5) stopped smoking or using snuff with the help of the application. By December 2022, approximately 5,000 users had downloaded the application. Based on feedback collected over the period October-December 2022 (n=34), 82% felt that the application was useful in quitting and 94% reported that they had been successful in quitting.

Conclusions:
The mobile application offers young people easily accessible, low-threshold support for quitting smoking and snuff use. Based on the feedback received, developmental activities were carried out on the application, and a Swedish version was also published in 2022. The application will be developed further in line with identified needs.

eISSN:2459-3087
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