Case Study: National Cancer Institute achieves doubled teen smoking quit rate with Upland Software's Mobile Messaging (SmokefreeTXT)

National Cancer Institute - Customer Case Study

The National Cancer Institute partnered with Upland Mobile Messaging to tackle a common but difficult public-health problem: how to help teens and adults quit smoking. Quitting is hard—cravings, busy lives, and momentary lapses undermine resolve—so NCI sought a scalable, everyday support system to keep people focused on becoming smoke-free.

They launched SmokefreeTXT, a personalized SMS program with a 14-day countdown to quit followed by six weeks of tailored motivational messages, mood and craving tracking, and timing based on each user’s quit date. The campaign significantly improved outcomes for teens: 12% were smoke-free after one month and 6% at six months—more than double the typical teen quit rate of 2–3%—and drew national attention for its effectiveness.

National Cancer Institute

Erik Augustson

National Cancer Institute