Have you tried to quit smoking but not succeeded in the end? You may have to utilise digital therapy, by downloading an application that will help you resist your cravings for tobacco.
Downloading an app on your smartphone may increase your odds of success, according to a study published on Monday in "JAMA Internal Medicine."
This approach to changing behavior can be beneficial to more than one in 10 Americans who smoke.
People trying to quit smoking require having a smartphone and a working phone line, according to Dr. Panagis Galiatosatos, an assistant professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore and a volunteer spokesperson for the American Lung Association.
The team of Jonathan Brecker, who is the lead author of the new study and a professor in the cancer prevention program at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, wanted to prove that tracking your progress in a digital application is feasible.
Nearly 490 smoking cessation apps have been downloaded up to 33 million times, according to data from SensorTower.com.
However, data has been limited about how effective it actually is.
Therefore, a randomized clinical trial was developed to compare smokers, using two different apps designed to help people kick the habit.
The study team recorded 2,415 adult cigarette smokers, and divided them into two groups.
In the first group, participants used iCanQuit, an app developed by researchers based on acceptance and commitment therapy, that helps you
Combat the craving for tobacco
In the second group, smokers used the application "QuitGuide", which is designed to help people quit smoking, by avoiding the triggers that push people towards cigarettes.
Researchers followed the participants several times between May 2017 and September 2018
It turns out that people who used the "iCanQuit" app had 1.49 times higher odds of quitting smoking, compared to those who used the "QuitGuide" app.
After downloading the "iCanQuit" application, people can determine when they want to quit smoking, while following the instructions of the virtual coach of the application, as it helps them to become more aware of the personal pressures that stimulate their cravings to smoke.
The result was 28,000 people successfully quit smoking, out of 100,000 smokers using the iCanQuit app.
Besides using digital applications, the study provided some ways to help you quit smoking.
•One of the successful ways to help people quit smoking has been to create a financial incentive. According to a previous study published in the "New England Journal of Medicine", participants recover a sum of $ 150 after deposit, in addition to $ 650, if they succeed in quitting smoking.
•According to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine in 2015, half of the men and women in the study were able to quit smoking if their partner stopped with them.
"This study is applicable to helping people to quit smoking .. If you want to help people quit smoking, this does not mean writing a prescription for one day," said Galliasatos of Johns Hopkins.
However, Galiatsatus explained that many of his low-income patients have trouble using quit smoking services because they do not have a reliable and stable phone line.
Because many smokers come from a lower socioeconomic status, they do not have the resources and support that would make quitting smoking completely possible.
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