sMoking Cessation

Using Mobile Technology to Kick the Habit

M-BabiesSmoking cessation is “going mobile,” and those trying to kick the habit with the help of their phones can sign-up for any number of services, try an app or get one of the novel smart products.

The market

In the U.S. alone, there are around 45 million smokers, 70% of which report they want to quit, according to the Centers for Disease Control; and 23 million want to do so each year. Smoking kills more than 400,000 Americans every year, and is responsible for approximately one in five deaths in the US.

The solution

As we’ve already mentioned, users can try out few different “mobile methods” to stop smoking, though not all of them will work equally. Our brief research tells us that services — whether text or app based — have the biggest chance of succeeding, business wise, as they are usually tied into a bigger platform offering an array of behavior changing programs. Apps alone may not be the best way to kick the habit, while smart devices are too new to tell.

Selection criteria

Most, if not all, products, apps and services covered in this report have already been mentioned at mHealthSpot.com. That was our basic selection criteria. Additionally, we searched the Web to find out what has worked for users to get to the more complete picture.

The “sMoking Cessation” report is available as part of mHealth Spot’s Premium membership.