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 secondhand 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 0-17 years and adolescents ages 14-17 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 months 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.