Understanding Hesitation to Use Nicotine Replacement Therapy: A Content Analysis of Posts in Online Tobacco-Cessation Support Groups.

Purpose: We aimed to better understand hesitancy to use nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) to quit smoking.

Design: We content coded and analyzed NRT-related posts in online quit smoking support groups to understand NRT-use hesitancy and to examine associations with health outcomes.

Setting: NRT posts were analyzed in unmoderated social-media support groups with free NRT.

Sample: Adults who smoked daily (n = 438) and posted about NRT were studied, 339 of whom reported on NRT usage and 403 reported on smoking abstinence.

Measures: Surveys at 1-month post-quit date assessed NRT usage and smoking abstinence.

Analysis: Relationships among NRT posts, NRT usage and smoking abstinence were analyzed using GEE models accounting for support group and covariates.

Results: Nearly all (96.17%) participants reported using the study-provided NRT once, most (70.21%) used NRT during the past week, but less than half (45.72%) used NRT daily for the full month as recommended. Nearly two-thirds (65.34%) of NRT posts were negative. Posts reflecting dislike or no longer needing NRT were associated with a lower likelihood of using NRT in the past week at least once (B = -.66, = .005 and B = -.37, = .045), use occasions (B = -1.86, = .018 and B = -1.10, = .016) and used daily for full month (B = -.56, = .044 and B = -.53, = .009). Posts related to the effectiveness of NRT related to past-week NRT used at least once (B = .15, = .023), used daily for full month (B = .25, = .001), and smoking abstinence (B = .27, = .002).

Conclusion: Strategies are needed to address dislike of NRT and strengthen perceptions of NRT efficacy, especially on social media where posts may be amplified.