Data is in our DNA. For over a decade, we’ve led the field in research on digital interventions for tobacco cessation.

Our innovations are driven by science and an unyielding focus on helping tobacco users.

The rigor and competitiveness of our science are unmatched. We’ve received over $15 million in grant funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to advance the science of digital approaches to tobacco cessation. We are frequently asked to share our expertise with federal agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the NIH.

Preventing individuals from starting to smoke or vape and helping tobacco users to quit is our mission.

For over 20 years, Truth Initiative has been transforming culture, informing federal policies, and empowering individuals to quit based on our own research in nicotine and tobacco control.

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Research staff*

NIH-funded studies
involving EX

Peer-reviewed
manuscripts on EX and
digital tobacco cessation

*Including Truth Initiative’s Schroeder Institute^®, a leading, trusted voice in tobacco control research

Research Collaborators Include

Featured Research

Effect of Messaging Content on Engagement With a Short Messaging Service for Perioperative Smoking Cessation

Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 2023

Smoking plays a key role in how well people recover from surgery. This study tested two approaches to promote quitting among smokers who were getting surgery. One focused on the benefits of quitting in preparation for surgery (“quit for a bit) and the other focused on the long-term benefits of quitting (“quit for good”). Results showed that it is feasible to engage smokers in quitting around surgery and that satisfaction was high with both approaches.

Tailored Text Message and Web Intervention for Smoking Cessation in U.S. Socioeconomically-Disadvantaged Young Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Preventive Medicine, 2022

The EX text message cessation program was adapted to uniquely address the needs of young adult smokers with low levels of education or income. In a randomized trial, those receiving the modified program were nearly 4 times more likely to be abstinent at 3-months and to report higher confidence to quit.

Delivery of Smoking Cessation Treatment via Live Chat: An Analysis of Client-centered Coaching Skills and Behavior Change Techniques

Patient Education and Counseling, 2021

This qualitative study found live chat coaching with our EX Coaches effectively delivers motivational interviewing skills and evidence-based behavior change techniques to help tobacco users quit.

Vaping in the Workplace: Prevalence and Attitudes Among Employed US Adults

Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2021

Workplace vaping and vaping exposure are surprisingly common in U.S. workplaces, and vary by industry. Employees – especially those who do not vape – hold generally negative perceptions of workplace vaping, and believe that vaping at work decreases productivity.

Vaping in the Workplace: Implications for Employer-Sponsored Tobacco Cessation Programs

Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2020

Workplace vaping is a trigger for smoking and vaping among current and former tobacco users. Despite strong support for and interest in vaping cessation programs among employees, a minority of employers provide such programs.

Optimizing Text Messages to Promote Engagement With Internet Smoking Cessation Treatment: Results From a Factorial Screening Experiment

Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2020

This study demonstrated the impact of a dynamically tailored text message intervention integrated with an Internet smoking cessation program on metrics of program engagement. The combined intervention resulted in a greater treatment “dose” and exposure to the core components of evidence-based treatment.