The types of smokers who are accessing the Web and the quality of Web-assisted tobacco intervention (WATI) sites were reported in two studies published in the December 1 Nicotine & Tobacco Research. Each study focused on a product developed or study funded by NCI's Tobacco Control Research Branch (TCRB) in DCCPS.

To help developers of smoking cessation programs improve the content and delivery of resources to both groups, the first study compared smokers who use the Internet with those who do not. Using data from the 2003 NCI Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS), TCRB scientists compared characteristics of 728 Internet-using smokers with 516 non-Internet-using smokers.

"Our results showed that compared with smokers not on the Internet, those on the Internet had higher income and were more likely to be employed, despite having a younger age," noted NCI researchers Drs. Jacqueline L. Stoddard and Erik M. Augustson. "Internet-connected smokers also reported less psychological distress, fewer barriers to health care, and a greater interest in quitting smoking."

For smokers who didn't use the Web, the most common reason cited was a lack of familiarity with the Internet and a concern about the complexity of gaining access. Because this group also reported a high level of trust in information and advice from family and friends, the researchers suggested that campaigns target friends and families of smokers to increase Internet utilization for the purpose of quitting smoking.

A second study surveyed current and former smokers who had visited a WATI site to determine which of the Internet smoking cessation sites were most popular and how smokers rated their quality. The 706 U.S. respondents cited 133 different Web sites. "Surprisingly, two of the three most frequently visited Web sites were owned by tobacco companies," noted researcher Dr. Jean-Francois Etter of the University of Geneva, Switzerland. However, these two sites were not perceived as helpful by smokers, the study reported. In contrast, Smokefree.gov, a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Web site, received the highest quality rating of the sites and was the second most frequently recommended site by smokers to their friends.