iPhone app my quitline
Smokers can turn to their iPhones to help them quit smoking with evidence-based treatment through a free app downloadable from iPhone or iTunes. The app links users to the National Cancer Institute’s quitline service where they speak to a live quitline coach or use live text to get advice on quitting.
“My QuitLine” was developed by the The George Washington University’s School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS) and the National Tobacco Cessation Collaborative (NTCC), with support from the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
GW’s Dr. Lorien Abroms, assistant research professor in the Department of Prevention and Community Health, studies how new media technologies can be applied for smoking cessation. She designed the app with feedback from the NTCC, after reading an NTCC report about the lack of iPhone apps that link smokers to proven therapies.
“Quitline counseling has been shown to double a person’s chance of quitting smoking. It is important to make sure that in these new media environments, people still receive information about what has been proven to work in quitting smoking, and get access to tools that are based on these proven therapies,” said Dr. Abroms.
iPhone users can find the app by searching “My QuitLine” or “quit smoking” on their iPhone or on iTunes. While the Apple app store has other applications to help people quit smoking, no others use products or services recommended as effective by the 2008 Public Health Service Guideline Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence.
“The My QuitLine app finally gives iPhone users access to an evidence-based method to help them quit smoking,” said Todd Phillips, director of the NTCC. “The best part is that it is free and proven to work.”
Source: The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services
