DoubleTake: Effect of Message Exposure Via a Discrete Choice Experiment With Eye-Tracking on Quit Attempts Among Adults Who Smoke Menthol Cigarettes

August 20, 2026 updated by: Lyudmila Popova, Georgia State University

The DoubleTake Study: A Randomized, Waitlist-Controlled Trial of Message Exposure Delivered Via a Discrete Choice Experiment With Eye-Tracking on Quit Attempts Among Adults Who Smoke Menthol Cigarettes

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn how exposure to anti-smoking social media messages affects quitting-related behaviors. Eligible participants will be adults aged 21 or older who have used menthol cigarettes on at least 4 days during the past 30 days.


The main question this study aims to answer is: Does exposure to anti-smoking messages (in the context of a discrete choice experiment [DCE] with eye-tracking study) increase quitting-related behaviors over the following 2 weeks?


Participants will be randomly assigned to view the messages either immediately or after a 2-week waiting period, allowing researchers to compare quitting-related behaviors between the two groups. The primary outcome is whether participants report making a quit attempt in the 2 weeks following randomization.


Participants will:

  • Complete eligibility screening and baseline questions about demographics and tobacco use.
  • Be randomly assigned to view the messages immediately or after a 2-week waiting period.
  • Attend a 1-hour in-person study visit at Georgia State University or the University of California, Santa Barbara.
  • View 64 anti-smoking social media messages presented in 16 choice sets while their eye movements and pupil dilation are measured using a screen-based eye-tracking device.
  • Select which messages most attract their attention, which they would be most likely to share, and which would most motivate them to quit smoking.
  • Complete questions about quitting-related behaviors either during the study visit (waitlist control condition) or through an online questionnaire 2 weeks later (immediate condition).

Study Overview

Detailed Description

Discrete choice experiments (DCEs) are increasingly used in tobacco research to understand which message features people perceive as most effective. However, DCE studies are typically designed to assess message preferences and are not designed to test whether exposure to these messages has any downstream effect on actual behavior. Because DCEs expose participants to a large number of messages in a single session, a much higher dose of message exposure than in typical single- or few-message studies, it is possible that this cumulative exposure itself influences quitting-related outcomes such as making a quit attempt. This study (DoubleTake) is a randomized controlled trial designed to address this gap by testing whether exposure to multiple messages in the context of a DCE with concurrent eye-tracking affects quitting-related behaviors among adults who smoke menthol cigarettes, a population disproportionately affected by tobacco-related health disparities.


The study is a two-arm, randomized, waitlist-controlled trial with a planned total enrollment of approximately 200 participants (approximately 100 per arm). After completing eligibility screening and baseline questions on demographics and tobacco use, eligible participants will be randomly assigned to one of two conditions:

  • Immediate condition: Participants complete the in-person DCE/eye-tracking study visit right away and then complete an online questionnaire assessing quitting-related behaviors 2 weeks later.
  • Waitlist control condition: Participants wait 2 weeks and then attend an in-person visit, at the start of which they answer questions about quitting-related behaviors covering the preceding 2-week waiting period, and then complete the DCE/eye-tracking study.

This design allows researchers to isolate the effect of message exposure on quitting-related behaviors by comparing outcomes reported by the immediate condition (after exposure) to those reported by the waitlist condition (before exposure, over an equivalent 2-week window).


All participants will attend a 1-hour in-person study visit at one of two sites (Georgia State University or the University of California, Santa Barbara). During this visit, participants will view 64 anti-smoking social media messages, presented across 16 choice sets, while an eye-tracking device records their eye movements and pupil dilation. Within each choice set, participants will indicate which message most attracts their attention, which they would be most likely to share, and which would most motivate them to quit smoking.


The primary outcome is a self-reported quit attempt within 2 weeks following randomization. Secondary outcome is intentions to quit smoking.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

200

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

  • Name: Lyudmila Popova, Ph.D
  • Phone Number: 404-413-9338
  • Email: lpopova1@gsu.edu

Study Locations

    • California
      • Santa Barbara, California, United States, 93106
        • University of California, Santa Barbara
        • Contact:
    • Georgia
      • Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 30303
        • Georgia State University
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 21+ years
  • Smoked menthol cigarettes at least once a week in the past 30 days
  • Can speak, read, and write in English
  • Willing to participate in an in-person study

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Eye conditions affecting fixation, ocular motility, or central acuity (e.g., strabismus, nystagmus, ptosis, aniridia, maculopathy, advanced cataracts, or other conditions affecting macular fixation or central visual acuity).
  • Multifocal or near-infrared-blocking/heavily tinted corrective lenses: bifocal, trifocal, or progressive/varifocal lenses, or coatings that impair eye-tracking. (Single-vision glasses and contact lenses are eligible.)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: DCE exposure
Participants complete the in-person discrete choice experiment (DCE) with eye-tracking study visit immediately after randomization. During this visit, participants view 64 anti-smoking social media messages presented in 16 choice sets while their eye movements are recorded. Participants then complete an online questionnaire assessing quitting-related behaviors 2 weeks later.
Participants will view 64 anti-smoking social media messages, presented across 16 choice sets, in a discrete choice experiment (DCE) with eye-tracking. Within each choice set, participants indicate which message most attracts their attention, which they would be most likely to share or repost, and which would most motivate them to quit smoking.
No Intervention: Waitlist Control
Participants wait 2 weeks following randomization. At the start of an in-person visit conducted at the end of this waiting period, participants answer questions about quitting-related behaviors covering the preceding 2-week waiting period. Participants then complete the discrete choice experiment (DCE) with eye-tracking study.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Quit attempts
Time Frame: 2 weeks after message exposure for the immediate intervention arm and 2 weeks before message exposure for the waitlist control arm.

Self-reported quit attempt:

Participants will be asked, "Have you made an attempt to quit smoking cigarettes in the past 2 weeks?" Response options will include yes, no, and don't know. Participants who report a quit attempt will be asked, "How long did you stop smoking?" with responses recorded as the number of days, ranging from less than 1 day to 14 days. Participants who report stopping smoking for 1 day or more will be classified as having made a quit attempt for the primary outcome analysis.

2 weeks after message exposure for the immediate intervention arm and 2 weeks before message exposure for the waitlist control arm.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Intention to Quit
Time Frame: 2 weeks after message exposure for the immediate intervention arm and 2 weeks before message exposure for the waitlist control arm.
Intention to quit smoking is assessed by asking participants the following questions, where 1 is not at all, and 5 is extremely: 1. How interested are you in quitting smoking in the next month? 2. How much do you plan to quit smoking in the next month and 3. How likely are you to quit smoking in the next month?
2 weeks after message exposure for the immediate intervention arm and 2 weeks before message exposure for the waitlist control arm.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

August 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

August 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

August 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 30, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 20, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

August 24, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 24, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 20, 2026

Last Verified

August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • H26621
  • R01CA289552 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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