“NYC Quits”: A Smoking Cessation Website Application for New York City Smokers

Background: Online tools have been shown to be effective in promoting smoking cessation. In March 2011, the New York City (NYC) Health Department launched a new smoking cessation website application, “NYC Quits,” (www.nycquits.org) to encourage smokers to quit and stay quit. To guide its development, a website feature prioritization survey was conducted in October 2010.

Methods: A random sample of 1,680 smokers who enrolled online for NYC's annual Nicotine Patch and Gum Program in March 2010 were emailed an online survey (420 per age group: 18-24, 25-44, 45-64, 65+). There were a total of 237 respondents (14% response rate).

Results: Respondents were more likely to be aged ≥45 years (62%), male (54%), white (67%), Manhattan residents (34%) and have at least a college education (83%). Most (89%) had visited the Health Department's prior quit-smoking website in the past year, citing the following reasons for their visit: to quit smoking (74%), for quitting resources (41%) and to search for tools to help them quit (26%). Quit-smoking tools (53%), as well as the content (36%) and ease of navigation (35%), were cited as the most important features. When asked about new website content, facts about quitting (45%), quit tips (44%) and benefits of quitting (32%) were indicated to be the most helpful.

Conclusions: NYC smokers expressed a preference for specific website tools and resources designed to help them quit. These data informed the prioritization and development of “NYC Quits,” particularly its updated user-friendly design, expanded content areas and quit tips and facts.