Message Priming and Enrollment in, and Response to, a Smoking Cessation Program: A Pilot Study

Despite available behavioral and pharmacological interventions to treat nicotine dependence, most smokers do not utilize these interventions. As such, the vast majority of smokers do not capitalize on potentially effective nicotine dependence treatments. The way in which health risk information is presented may influence interest in a smoking cessation program. In a series of preliminary studies, individuals provided with messages that primed the role of genetic variation in susceptibility to addiction to smoking exhibited positive consequences on intentions to quit (Cappella, Lerman, Romantan, \& Baruh, 2005). The proposed study has been designed to examine the effect of a message that primes genetic susceptibility on actual enrollment in a smoking cessation program, actual response to smoking cessation treatment, and potential moderators and mediators of this effect. The results of this pilot study may provide preliminary data for a larger trial and have implications for designing interventions to promote utilization of effective treatments for nicotine dependence among smokers.