As part of a long-standing collaboration with the National Cancer Institute’s Smokefree.gov Initiative, the IHS is announcing the availability of SmokefreeNATIVE -- a new, free text messaging program to help American Indians and Alaska Natives to quit smoking commercial tobacco.
While sacred tobacco is important in many Native cultures for prayer, healing, and ceremony, commercial tobacco is harmful to our health. SmokefreeNATIVE was developed by and for Native people to offer a culturally aligned, digital resource to improve access to evidence-based smoking cessation support.
SmokefreeNATIVE offers 6 weeks of smoking cessation assistance and support with up to two weeks of preparation messages. People who smoke and are ready to set a date to stop can enroll anytime online or by texting NATIVE to 47848. Participants will receive three to five messages each day with information, encouragement, and support to help them on their journey to quit smoking.
SmokefreeNATIVE was culturally adapted from SmokefreeTXT, a text message program that has been used by more than 480,000 people who want to quit smoking. IHS and NCI worked with experts from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health and the American Indian Cancer Foundation to develop a program that is aligned with the culture and needs of American Indian and Alaska Native communities, while also honoring the significance of traditional tobacco. The program braids together evidence-based smoking cessation support with key themes and content reflecting American Indian and Alaska Native cultural experiences, worldviews, and traditions.
People who smoke cigarettes are at risk for many adverse health effects, including cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cardiovascular disease, and poor reproductive health outcomes. On average, American Indian and Alaska Native people have the highest prevalence of cigarette smoking compared to all other racial and ethnic groups in the United States. Heart disease, cancer, and stroke are leading causes of death in these communities.
Mobile health tools like SmokefreeNATIVE are advantageous as they have the potential to reach more people than other behavioral interventions and are often less costly. Cell phone ownership is widespread and texting is a common activity among users.
This collaboration is an important step towards reducing the nation’s cancer death rate by half within 25 years, with the goal of improving the lives of people with cancer and cancer survivors as part of President Biden’s 2022 reignition of the Cancer Moonshot initiative.
NCI’s Smokefree.gov Initiative provides tobacco cessation information, encouragement, and support to more than 7 million people annually through online content and tools, text message programs, smartphone applications, and social media accounts.
Thank you to Meredith Grady at the National Cancer Institute’s Tobacco Control Research Branch for helping contribute to this blog.
