AI Plus Mobile App May Help With Smoking Cessation

A new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered mobile app can help individuals quit smoking, according to the results of a recent study published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research.

The app uses machine learning to collect information on the location, timing, and triggers of past smoking events to curate messages that assist smokers in managing their urges.

Prior to this app, there had been no other ways to provide support to help smokers manage social situations and urges after quitting, Felix Naughton, PhD, MSc, a primary researcher and professor of health psychology at the University of East Anglia School of Health Sciences in England, said in a statement.

Investigators at the University of East Anglia compared various efficacy measures between the app, called Quit Sense, and the online support offered by the National Health Service (NHS). All participants received NHS online smoking support, and 50% could also access the Quit Sense intervention. At 6 months, those who claimed to have quit smoking submitted a confirmatory saliva sample.

More than 4 times as many individuals from the Quit Sense cohort had successfully quit than those who received NHS support alone. This is the first mobile app using AI to help individuals quit smoking, and investigators suggest it could contribute significantly to the UK government’s initiative for England to be smoke free by 2030.