Quit4TB Trial

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Background

Tuberculosis (TB) and tobacco smoking are co-epidemics that disproportionately affect many low and middle-income countries (LMICs). People who smoke are more likely to become infected with TB, be more infectious and develop worse health outcomes compared to their non-smoker counterparts.

RESPIRE researchers, in collaboration with the World Health Organization, had previously developed a mobile Health programme known as mTB-Tobacco. The programme is designed to support people recovering from TB who also wish to stop smoking by sending carefully crafted and timed SMS messages to their mobile devices as they undergo treatment for TB.

Aim and Impact

This project aims to assess the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of mTB-Tobacco in Bangladesh and Pakistan – two countries with a high disease burden of TB and tobacco use.

Milestones

• Project launched in Bangladesh on 5 September 2022
• Project launched in Pakistan on 28 October 2022
• mHealth intervention portal launched
• Blog, Fighting TB on the Frontlines: Voices from the Ground published January 2025
• Springer Nature Behind the Paper feature for World TB Day published 24 February 2025
• Protocol published to BMJ Open, 25 February 2025
• Conference Proceeding: World Conference on Tobacco Control, June 2025
• Clinical trial published to JAMA, 22 December 2025
  • A press release issued by University of York was picked up by the news outlets below:
    • The Nation Islamabad (2025) 24 December (page 4)
    • China Observer Pakistan (2025) 24 December
    • Tribune Islamabad (2025) 25 December, (page 19).