On Using Chatbots to Promote Smoking Cessation Among Adolescents of Low Socioeconomic Status

Reducing youth tobacco use is critical for improving child health since tobacco use is associated with respiratory problems, and nicotine may interfere with healthy brain development. While tobacco regulation has contributed to declines in cigarette use among youth, these declines have occurred more quickly for youth of high socioeconomic status (SES) compared to youth of low SES. A major barrier to smoking cessation for adolescents of low SES is coordination of access and transportation to in-person treatment sessions. Low-SES youth may have family obligations that limit their ability to access in-person treatment. At the same time, mobile use among adolescents is high: 85% have smartphones. Additionally, adolescents engage in texting at high rates, suggesting that they are well-suited for mobile instant messaging interventions. Mobile interventions have shown promise for youth, but their use remains low. Thus, more research is needed to develop effective and engaging mobile interventions to increase quit rates. In this paper, we provide a brief review of approaches to adolescent smoking cessation and describe the promise of chatbots for smoking cessation.