Anti-smoking Campaign Turns to Text

Knowsley Health & Wellbeing is working with mobile messaging firm Txtlocal to help local people kick their smoking habits as part of the What Sort of Quitter are You? campaign.

The campaign gives smokers help and support to find a way of quitting that suits them. Members who live or work in the Knowsley area in the UK can attend weekly group sessions, have access to all the information they need to quit, and sign up to receive texts according to the type of quitter they are.
“The Txtlocal system is clever; it means that we can text members according to their lifestyle habits,” says Knowsley Health & Wellbeing marketing manager, Jennifer Cawkwell. “For example, if a member likes to socialise on nights out with friends, we can text suggestions of ways to abstain from going outside the bar to smoke. Similarly, we can send tips on combating stress-related smoking and even get more people to sign up to receive information.”

The campaign also uses a shortcode which enables people not yet signed up to the programme to text QUITTER to 60777 to learn more about the campaign.

“We stay in touch with our members for as long as they need us,” says Cawkwell. “The ability to send that supportive bespoke text has helped massively in keeping our members on the right track, and it’s an extremely cost-effective communication tool for us.”

Since the launch of the campaign in April, Knowsley Health & Wellbeing has helped 366 people to quit smoking.