Smartwatch technology could help people quit smoking, study finds
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Technology in smartwatches could help people quit smoking, according to researchers who have developed an app which intervenes when movements indicating cigarette use are detected. The team at the University of Bristol created software that uses motion sensors on an Android smartwatch to identify the typical hand movements of smoking.
Once detected, the app delivers a vibration alert with a text message designed by smokers and former smokers, offering support about stopping smoking onto the smartwatch screen. One message reads “Stopping smoking lets you breathe more easily.. Quitting is good”, while others contain a tally of how many cigarettes smoked and the total number of drags taken that day.
After reading the message, participants can swipe it away or press a button to display information about accessing the NHS smoking cessation support pages online. Chris Stone, of the University of Bristol’s Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group, said: “For those who are trying to give up, an initial lapse is a vulnerable moment, and risks leading to a full relapse to smoking.
This study shows that smartwatches could be a useful method to help people quit smoking, but more research is needed to understand how effective they are. “People like smartwatches. They like the idea of it delivering a message at the point that they smoke.
