There are plenty of programs and products geared to help people stop smoking, recently wearable technology has joined the fight and is gaining popularity in tackling addiction. The smoking cessation intervention smart phone app automatically texts 20 to 120 second video messages to smokers when it detects specific arm and body motions associated with smoking.
The Case Western Reserve mobile alert system researchers are testing what combines: existing online platforms with mindfulness training and personalized plan for quitting, with 2 armbands sensors to detect smoking motions technology that demonstrated 98% accuracy in differentiating from similar actions; and a personalized text messaging service to remind the user of the plan to quit or video messages stressing health and financial benefits.
This was a collaborative effort conceived, developed by a team from Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and clinical psychologist at Case Western Reserve School Of Medicine. Previous studies relied on smokers self reporting, this system more accurately tracked smoking based on the sensors which are able to differentiate between single motions of eating or drinking and sequences of motions linking to smoking.
Smoking tobacco is responsible for 1 out of every 5 deaths within the USA according to the CDC. Research has shown that there are upwards of 7,000 chemicals in cigarettes such as hydrogen cyanide, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxides, and there are 69 known cancer causing agents in tobacco smoke as reported by The National Cancer Institute.
Tobacco can be one of the toughest addictions to overcome, and is one of the easiest drugs to become addicted to; neurologically it is harder to quit because the brain has more nicotine receptors which is why researchers are excited about this intervention says Monica Webb Hooper of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, who has extended the study to another 120 smokers with half using the program and a control group using standard text messaging without sensors or video messaging.
