Tobacco Control Office funded “Youth Quitline” established by HKU to expand services for youth quitters

The youth-oriented smoking cessation hotline “Youth Quitline”, jointly established by the Smoking Cessation Research Team of School of Nursing, School of Public Health of the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and the Department of Social Work & Social Administration of HKU and the Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health, has been granted the second phase funding by Tobacco Control Office of the Department of Health.  The research team will continue to provide telephone smoking cessation counselling service to youth smokers, expanding the services of “Youth Quitline” to reach more youth smokers, and to promote smoking cessation through SMS, web media, peer counsellors training and outreach service enhancement, with a view to reducing the smoking prevalence and contributing to a smoke-free Hong Kong.

“Youth Quitline” has received over 5,000 telephone inquiries and provided smoking cessation counselling for 1,257 (up till September, 2013) youth smokers over the past eight years.  While continuing to provide telephone smoking cessation counselling for youth smokers, the service of the “Youth Quitline” will be further enhanced to reach the youth smokers through the applications of the mobile phone, such as WhatsApp.  It will also provide training to tertiary students as peer smoking cessation counsellors who will reach out to schools and community organisations for raising awareness of smoking cessation among youth smokers, followed by the arrangement of telephone smoking cessation counselling.

Professor Lam Tai-hing, Sir Robert Kotewall Professor in Public Health and Chair Professor of School of Public Health of Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, HKU pointed out that the main reasons for young people to quit smoking are to lead a healthy life and save money.  He believes that an increase in tobacco tax will help motivate more youth smokers to quit smoking.

Dr Li Ho-cheung William, Project Director of the “Youth Quitline” and Assistant Professor of School of Nursing of HKU, stated that it was quite remarkable that 21.9% of participants quitted smoking after receiving services of the “Youth Quitline”.  He hopes that the second phase of the project can reach out to more young smokers and help them quit smoking. 

About “Youth Quitline” 5111 4333

The Smoking Cessation Research Team of School of Nursing, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong (HKU), in collaboration with the School of Public Health of Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, the Department of Social Work & Social Administration of HKU and the Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health, established the first youth-oriented smoking cessation hotline “Youth Quitline” in 2005.  “Youth Quitline” aims to raise the awareness of smoking cessation service among youth smokers in Hong Kong and to provide FREE of CHARGE smoking cessation quitline service to them.  It also aims to provide training to teenagers as peer smoking cessation counsellors.  All these will be done together with vigorous research and evaluation to improve the quitline service.  The quitline targets on youth smokers aged 25 or below and it operates from 5 pm to 9 pm on weekdays and from 2 pm to 8 pm over weekends.  Voice mails are available during non-operating hours and public holidays.  All youth are welcome to call the hotline and join the smoking cessation programme.