The app, which offers smokers a proven quit smoking therapy, was developed by the School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS) at George Washington University and the National Cessation Collaborative (NTCC) with support from the National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Smokers can find this new app on their  iPhone or itunes site by simply by searching ‘My Quitline’ or ‘quit smoking’.

Sure, there are plenty of other iPhone apps aimed at encouraging, assisting, and supporting smokers who are trying to quit, but the ‘My Quitline’ app is the only one that links smokers with a proven evidence-based therapy on how to quit smoking.

Sounds like a winner for quitters to me.

(source and image)

Post from: Healthbolt

That’s right, according to the study, smokers tend to quit more in groups, or clusters, rather than on their own.

From 1971 to 2003, Dr. Nicholas Christakis of Harvard Medical School and James Fowler from the University of California, San Diego, followed thousands of smokers and nonsmokers, concentrating on studying participants as part of a “network” of relatives, co-workers, neighbors, friends and friends of friends.

During this time, adult smokers in the US fell from 45 percent to 21 percent, and that drop was due largely to the ripple effect quitters had on their networks. As time went by, entire “clusters” of smokers had quit and prompted other clusters – some only loosely related to their own – to quit as well. And as these clusters disappeared, those that remained smokers grew more isolated, had fewer friends, and kept fewer social connections. Suddenly smokers were no longer the life of the party as they once were – now they were the minority, driving home the idea that not only is smoking bad for your physical health, it can be bad for your relationships as well.

Perhaps the biggest take-away point from this study, however, is how to address smoking cessation going forth. Right now, plans are mainly aimed at individuals. But perhaps the medical industry should be targeting groups? Pair the traditional support of both medicine and behavior-modification with social goals, and see what transpires? It’s a thought.

Here at Healthbolt, we already have a humming social network for quitters which has morphed into a welcoming and supportive group. For that, we’re thankful. But what about in your face-to-face social network, smokers? Would you benefit from quitting in a group-type setting? Would establishing group goals make you hold up your end of the deal better? If all your friends suddenly quit smoking while at work or out for drinks, would you as well?

Drop us a comment to let us know your thoughts on this matter. We’d love to hear from you.

Source and further reading: New York Times

Post from: Healthbolt