Smokers can turn to their iPhones to help them quit smoking with evidence-based treatment through a free app downloadable from iPhone or iTunes. The app links users to the National Cancer Institute’s quitline service where they speak to a live quitline coach or use live text to get advice on quitting.

“My QuitLine” was developed by the The George Washington University’s School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS) and the National Tobacco Cessation Collaborative (NTCC), with support from the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

GW’s Dr. Lorien Abroms, assistant research professor in the Department of Prevention and Community Health, studies how new media technologies can be applied for smoking cessation. She designed the app with feedback from the NTCC, after reading an NTCC report about the lack of iPhone apps that link smokers to proven therapies.

“Quitline counseling has been shown to double a person’s chance of quitting smoking. It is important to make sure that in these new media environments, people still receive information about what has been proven to work in quitting smoking, and get access to tools that are based on these proven therapies,” said Dr. Abroms.

iPhone users can find the app by searching “My QuitLine” or “quit smoking” on their iPhone or on iTunes. While the Apple app store has other applications to help people quit smoking, no others use products or services recommended as effective by the 2008 Public Health Service Guideline Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence.

“The My QuitLine app finally gives iPhone users access to an evidence-based method to help them quit smoking,” said Todd Phillips, director of the NTCC. “The best part is that it is free and proven to work.”

About The George Washington University Medical Center
The George Washington University Medical Center is an internationally recognized interdisciplinary academic health center that has consistently provided high-quality medical care in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, since 1824. The Medical Center comprises the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, the 11th oldest medical school in the country; the School of Public Health and Health Services, the only such school in the nation’s capital; GW Hospital, jointly owned and operated by a partnership between The George Washington University and a subsidiary of Universal Health Services, Inc.; and the GW Medical Faculty Associates, an independent faculty practice plan.

About NTCC
NTCC was formed in 2005 to improve the public’s health by increasing successful cessation among tobacco users in the U.S. and Canada through collaborative efforts of committed organizations. Founded and funded by the American Cancer Society, American Legacy Foundation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Cancer Institute, National Institute on Drug Abuse and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, NTCC has more than 35 member organizations working together to help more smokers successfully quit using proven quit smoking products and services.

Source: George Washington University