Smartwatches could aid people in quitting smoking, according to a University of Bristol study.

The researchers tested a smartwatch fitted with a custom app that used the smartwatch's built-in motion sensors to detect typical smoking movements. The results, published in JMIR Formative Research, showed that the technology had the potential to help over two thirds of trial participants quit the habit.

Chris Stone, senior research associate in wearable technology application development in Bristol’s Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group and Integrative Cancer Epidemiology Programme (ICEP), 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. People like smartwatches. They like the idea of it delivering a message at the point that they smoke. Therefore, if we can identify this point of lapse, and deliver an intervention precisely at that point, we have an opportunity to improve the success of the quit attempt.

“In carrying out this project, we have aimed to harness the latest thinking in intervention design and deliver it in a convenient wearable package with minimal burden to the user and maximum engagement with behaviour change, and in doing so, make a difference to people’s lives.”

Researchers developed software that used the watch’s motion sensors to identify the typical hand movements of cigarette smoking to help detect a smoking lapse. If the app detected the person was smoking, it delivered a relapse prevention message to help with their quit attempt.

The intervention was tested on 18 participants interested in quitting smoking. They all wore a normal Android smartwatch loaded with the custom app for a two-week period.

Participants reported that the smartwatch intervention increased their awareness of smoking, which helped with some of the more automatic aspects of smoking behaviour and made them think about what they were doing, motivating them to quit.

Researchers found that a smoking relapse prevention intervention and the use of a smartwatch as a platform to host a just-in-time behaviour change intervention are both feasible and acceptable to the majority of participants (66 per cent).

The researchers said this is the first just-in-time intervention for preventing smoking relapse that runs entirely on a smartwatch, so it doesn’t need to be paired with a smartphone.

Alizée Froguel, Cancer Research UK’s prevention policy manager, said, “Smoking is the biggest cause of cancer in the UK and stopping completely is the best thing you can do for your health. 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.

“There are many tools available to help people quit, and getting support from your free local stop smoking service will give you the best chance of stopping successfully. To help create a smokefree future, the UK government must ensure cessation services are sustainably funded and accessible for all.”

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