Health Warnings and Counseling for Smoking Cessation

Launched by HITOTSUBASHI UNIVERSITY · Jul 24, 2025

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is studying ways to help people stop smoking by combining strong health warning labels on tobacco products with personalized support from community pharmacists. Tobacco use is a major cause of health problems like high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes in South Asia, and this study aims to see if adding counseling from pharmacists to the warning labels can improve quitting rates and overall health. The trial will take place in Bangladesh and Pakistan, involving over 5,000 adults in each country who visit local pharmacies.

People eligible to join are adults 18 years or older who currently smoke or have high blood pressure but no severe organ damage, live in the study area, and can use a smartphone. Participants will be randomly placed into one of three groups: those who receive health warnings only, those who get both health warnings and pharmacist counseling, or those who receive the usual care. Those in the counseling groups will have sessions twice a year, either in person or through digital materials like booklets and leaflets. The study will look at whether these approaches help people quit smoking, lower blood pressure, improve management of health conditions, and reduce hospital visits. The goal is to find effective and affordable ways to support healthier lives in communities with limited resources.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Adults aged 18 and older
• • Regular pharmacy visitors who currently smoke or have medically diagnosed hypertension without organ damage
• • Permanent resident of the study area,
• • Access to mobile phone
• • Able to operate smartphone or tablet.
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Without pregnancy and lactation
• • Without cognitive or psychiatric conditions,
• • Without severe medical conditions,
• • Participation in other studies, and inability to consent.