NCT05916170

A Study of Hookah Café Customers in the Atlanta Area

Communicating Waterpipe Tobacco Harms to Reduce Use Among Young Adults: A Study of Hookah Café Customers in the Atlanta Area

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 977 (actual)
• Sponsor: Wake Forest University Health Sciences · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The purpose of the study is to assess the effectiveness of health warnings on waterpipe smoking behavior in a real-world setting. The primary hypothesis is that hookah café customers who are in the intervention (warning) arm will smoke less than customers who are in the control (no warning) arm, determined by differences in the boost in expired carbon monoxide from café entry to after café exit.

Detailed description

Expired carbon monoxide is an objective biological marker of combustible tobacco smoking and is strongly correlated with the amount of smoke inhaled. In the intervention arm, warning messages will be displayed at various agreed-upon locations in the café, such as on hookah pipes, tables, countertops, walls, and menus. The goal is to maximize the potential for customers to be exposed to warnings. Participants will be patrons of the café and will be recruited before entering the café. Participants will complete a brief survey and provide a breath sample to measure expired carbon monoxide. When leaving the café, they will complete another survey and provide a second breath sample.

Conditions

• Waterpipe Tobacco Smoking

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Health Warnings	Text-only warnings about one health harm will be displayed in the hookah cafés where data collection is being conducted.
BEHAVIORAL	No Warnings	No warnings posted in the hookah café

Timeline

• Start date: 2023-06-01
• Primary completion: 2024-11-21
• Completion: 2024-11-21
• First posted: 2023-06-23
• Last updated: 2026-02-02
• Results posted: 2025-12-23

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States