Quitting smoking could be easier with a smartwatch app, researchers say
Smartwatches could be used to help people quit smoking, a study suggests.
Researchers have developed groundbreaking motion sensor software that can detect the typical hand movements that occur when someone holds a cigarette.
When cigarette use is detected, an alert will appear on the smartwatch screen. An app on the device delivers a vibration with a text message designed by smokers and ex-smokers, which provides support in quitting smoking.
One message reads: “Quitting smoking can help you breathe easier… Quitting is good,” while others include a breakdown of the number of cigarettes smoked and the total number of puffs taken that day.
The University of Bristol researchers believe their app is the first just-in-time intervention to prevent smoking relapse that runs entirely on a smartwatch and does not need to be linked to a smartphone.
Chris Stone, from the University of Bristol’s Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group, said an initial relapse was a vulnerable moment for people trying to quit, and there was a risk it would lead to a full-blown return to smoking.
“People love smartwatches. They like the idea that it conveys a message the moment they smoke.
“If we can identify this point of decline and intervene exactly at that point, we have the opportunity to improve the success of the quit attempt.”
Stone added: “We have aimed to leverage the latest insights in intervention design and deliver them in a convenient, portable package with minimal user burden and maximum engagement with behavior change; and thereby make a difference in people’s lives.”
The study, published in the journal JMIR Formative Research, tested the smartwatch app on 18 people interested in quitting smoking. The participants were between 18 and 70 years old and smoked more than 10 cigarettes per day with their right hand.
They wore a TicWatch with the app on it for two weeks before completing a 27-question questionnaire.
A total of 66% of participants said it was acceptable to wear the smartwatch with the motion sensor software, while 61% said the content of messages was relevant to them.
Positive feedback included people reporting that the app has raised awareness about smoking, made them feel positive about quitting, made them stop and think, helped them smoke less and provided continued encouragement.
However, negative reactions were that repeated messages lost their effectiveness, some messages did not appear quickly enough, there was not enough variety in messages and some were too vague.
The next step is a longer-term effectiveness trial, which could use a wider variety of messages, the researchers said.
Alizée Froguel, prevention policy manager at Cancer Research UK, said: “This study shows that smartwatches can be a useful method of helping people quit smoking, but more research is needed to understand how effective they are.
“There are many resources available to help people quit, and getting support from your free local stop smoking service gives you the best chance of quitting successfully.”