Digital Screening Tool to Help Parents and Adolescents Quit Smoking and Vaping: Effectiveness of the CanCEASE Pilot Trial☆

OBJECTIVE: Fifteen percent of Canadian children are exposed to household second-hand smoke. The Clinical Effort Against Secondhand Smoke (CEASE) intervention systematically screens parents for tobacco use in pediatric care settings and facilitates access to evidence-based cessation services. This single-blind pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) compared CanCEASE (an adaptation of CEASE for adolescents and e-cigarette users) to usual care. METHODS: Parents of children ages 0 to 17 years and adolescents ages 14 to 17 years were eligible if they reported smoking or using e-cigarettes in the past 7 days. Use behaviors were evaluated at baseline and at 1, 3, and 6 months post baseline. While feasibility outcomes are reported elsewhere, we describe exploratory effectiveness outcomes, including self-reported 7-day point prevalence abstinence, quit attempts, and intensity of cigarette and e-cigarette use. RESULTS: Sixty-seven parents and 45 adolescents were included. At the end of the 6-month follow-up period, parents in the intervention group were more likely to have quit vaping or smoking over the study period (RD (risk difference) = 23% [95%CI 3.2-43]) or reduce cigarette or e-cigarette use (RD = 35% [95%CI 3.8-66]) compared to controls. Smoking or vaping quit rates among adolescents were similar in the intervention and control groups. CONCLUSIONS: In this pilot study, CanCEASE showed promising effects on parent smoking and vaping behavior. Larger trials are needed to evaluate effectiveness in broader clinical settings and among adolescents.