COMPUTER-ASSISTED SMOKELESS TOBACCO CESSATION

SMOKELESS TOBACCO IS A WIDESPREAD AND RAPIDLY GROWING PHENOMENON, WITH RECENT ESTIMATES INDICATING THAT APPROXIMATELY 12 MILLION AMERICANS ARE REGULAR USERS. SMOKELESS TOBACCO USE IS RELATED TO A VARIETY OF DISEASE ENDPOINTS, THE MOST COMMON OF WHICH ARE ORAL LEUKOPLAKIA AND ORAL CANCER. USE OF SMOKELESS TOBACCO USE CAN ALSO LEAD TO NICOTINE ADDICTION, AND CESSATION FOLLOWING EXTENDED USE CAN RESULT IN A WITHDRAWAL SYNDROME COMPARABLE TO THAT EXPERIENCED BY HEAVY SMOKERS UPON ABRUPT CESSATION. AT PRESENT, VERY LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE SMOKELESS TOBACCO CESSATION PROGRAMS. WE WILL PERFORM A MODIFICATION OF THE LIFESIGN SMOKING CESSATION PROGRAM FOR USE WITH SMOKELESS TOBACCO. THE PROGRAM REPRESENTS A FIRST STEP IN APPLYING COMPUTER-BASED TECHNOLOGY TO SMOKELESS TOBACCO CESSATION. THE TREATMENT WILL BE TESTED WITH THREE SAMPLES OF SMOKELESS TOBACCO USERS. THE STUDY WILL STRESS THE COLLECTION OF PROCESS AND SATISFACTION DATA THAT WILL BE EXAMINED BY CONSULTANTS AND HEALTH INNOVATIONS' STAFF TO PROVIDE ONGOING REFINEMENTS TO THE PROGRAM. THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE OF THIS PHASE I GRANT IS TO DEVELOP A VIABLE TREATMENT THAT CAN BE TESTED IN A PHASE II EFFICACY TRIAL.