Optimizing Risk Messages for Waterpipe Tobacco Cessation in Young Adults

The purpose of this study is to test the effects of messages communicating the risks (i.e., health harms, addictiveness) of hookah tobacco delivered via mobile multimedia messaging for promoting hookah tobacco cessation. The study will also compare two messaging approaches, a standard untailored approach where all participants receive the same message content, and a tailored messaging approach where message content is personalized to baseline measures of hookah tobacco use behavior and beliefs and interactively to exchanges that occur via mobile messaging sent and received during the exposure period. The study includes young adults ages 18 to 30 who are current hookah tobacco smokers. Eligible participants are young adults ages 18 to 30 years who have smoked hookah tobacco at least once in the past month, smoke hookah tobacco on at least a monthly basis, and have access to the internet and a personal mobile phone to complete study procedures. Study participants will complete a baseline survey online, and all participants will receive standard information about the risks of hookah tobacco. Then participants will be randomly assigned to one of three groups: control group, untailored message group, tailored message group. Participants in the untailored and tailored message group will receive messages sent to their mobile phones communicating the risks of hookah tobacco for a 6 week period. All participants will complete follow-up surveys online 6 weeks after baseline, 3 months later, and 6 months later.