Now AI could help people quit smoking

RESEARCHES in the UK have developed a smartphone application to help people stop smoking. Based on artificial intelligence, this app is able to detect when and where a smoker would want to light up a cigarette. According to the researchers' first tests, this method could be more effective than online services to help people kick the habit.

A new study conducted by the University of East Anglia, in collaboration with several other British universities, shows that an AI-based smartphone application could become an effective smoking cessation aid. Called Quit Sense, the application detects smoking triggers, and helps smokers manage their cravings in real time by sending them supportive messages.

"We know that quit attempts often fail because urges to smoke are triggered by spending time in places where people used to smoke. This might be while at the pub or at work, for example. Other than using medication, there are no existing ways of providing support to help smokers manage these types of situations and urges as they happen," explains Professor Felix Naughton, lead researcher on the study, published in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research.

To test the effectiveness of Quit Sense, researchers conducted a trial with 209 smokers recruited via social networks.

All participants received a link to the National Health Service (NHS) online smoking cessation service. Only half of the volunteers received a link to the Quit Sense application.

After six months, participants were asked to report back through online follow-up measures. Those who reported quitting smoking were asked to provide a saliva sample to verify their claim.

"We found that when smokers were offered the Quit Sense app, three-quarters installed it and those who started a quit attempt with the app used it for around one month on average. We also found that four times more people who were offered the app quit smoking six months later compared to those only offered online NHS support," says Felix Naughton.

The research team notes that there are limitations to this study, however, in that it was conducted on a small scale and less than half of those who reported quitting smoking provided a saliva sample as agreed.

More research is needed to assess the effectiveness of the application.