What Quit Smoking App Should You Try?

Smoking Cessation  /  Blog

What Quit Smoking App Should You Try?

Ryan Quinn

Written by Ryan Quinn

Ryan Quinn

Ryan Quinn

Ryan has a background in geochemical research and enjoys writing on technical subjects like health and science. He lives in Salt Lake City, UT and can be found recreating in the local mountains.

December 15, 2017 / Read Time 8 minutes

What Quit Smoking App Should You Try? Learn About Quit Smoking Calculator, Tracker, and Quit Smoking Chart Options

Quitting smoking can be one of the most difficult challenges a person can face. Many smokers attempt to quit “cold-turkey”, but only about 5 out of every 100 people are successful. There are many quit smoking apps and many more websites that provide tracking, calculating, and charts to help in the smoking cessation effort. Some users turn to medications to help quit smoking, as well as therapy and counseling services. But even something as simple as a quit smoking app can help your chances for a successful quit. Many of these are free quit smoking apps and are harmless to try. Anybody who smokes knows how expensive cigarettes are. A common feature in a quit smoking app is a quit smoking calculator, which offers a quick way of estimate the money you save by quitting smoking. Many quit smoking apps offer social support, games, goal oriented awards, and health information to help develop the skills needed to stay smoke free. Many quit smoking apps offer similar features, but there are differences that can appeal to personal preference. There are hundreds of apps to choose from, each with their own attributes and styles. Choosing the best quit smoking app will require some experimentation, so pick out a handful of apps that appeal to you and download them. This list offers a good selection of options to aid in the journey to a smoke-free life. Use each a little bit and see what you like best.

QUIT SMOKING APPS:

PlushCare

Price: app is free to download, doctor visits are typically $30 with in-network insurance or $129 for self-pay patients (most major health insurance plans are accepted). Reviews: Apple 5.0 / 5.0 Android 4.3 / 5.0 Google 4.9 / 5.0 Yelp 5.0 / 5.0 Facebook 5.0 / 5.0 TrustPilot 9.8 / 10 With PlushCare you can go to an appointment with a doctor at the convenience of your smartphone or tablet. A doctor can help construct a quit-plan that is right for you including recommendations for over-the-counter or prescription medications. Talking to a doctor about quitting can improve your chance for a successful quit by more than double. A collaborative study between researchers at George Washington University and the American Cancer Society found that it was rare for quit smoking apps to recommend calling a quitline, or taking certain medications. The study concluded that quit smoking apps have a large margin for improvement, and that they should incorporate more evidence based practices. A quit smoking app might help you in your journey, but it doesn’t replace talking to a doctor. If you are ready to quit, call or book online with PlushCare to set up a phone appointment with a top U.S. doctor today.

QuitGuide

Price: free Reviews: 4.1 / 5.0 QuitGuide is a free quitting smoking app that helps you monitor cravings and moods, track progress towards milestones, and identify triggers along with strategies to overcome them. QuitGuide provides users with techniques on how to quit smoking and ways to handle withdrawal effects after quitting. You can track cravings and slips by time of day and location to help identify factors that lead to relapse. You can create journal entries and keep motivated with inspirational messages (or distractions) during a craving. QuitGuide is a product of Smokefree.gov created by the Tobacco Control Research Branch at the National Cancer Institute. QuitGuide is at the top of our list because it provides free, accurate, evidence-based information and professional assistance to help support the immediate and long-term needs of people who are trying to quit smoking.

quitSTART

Price: free Reviews: 3.5 / 5.0 The quit smoking app quitSTART is similar to QuitGuide, but is designed specifically for teenagers. The app takes information you input about your smoking history and provides custom tips, inspirations, and challenges to help you quit smoking and stay smoke free. The app provides information to get you prepared to quit and cope with withdrawal symptoms. Similar to QuitGuide, quitSTART provides ways to monitor your progress, manage cravings and moods, plus tips and inspirations for achieving a successful quit. In addition, quitSTART comes with various games to help distract during cravings and it allows users to share their progress on social media. quitStart is also a product of Smokefree.gov, developed by the Tobacco Control Research Branch at the National Cancer Institute.

QuitNow! — Quit Smoking

Price: free (contains ads and some in app purchases) Reviews: 4.3 / 5.0 QuitNow! is a quit smoking app that provides a community of ex-smokers and others who are in the process of quitting. You can interact with the community of over 2 million people who are there giving and receiving inspiration and support to help others quit. QuitNow! helps users stay on track by utilizing achievements that can be unlocked over time and shared on social media. QuitNow! provides users with the time since their last drag and the health benefits as time goes by smoke free. The app makes calculations of how many cigarettes you’ve said no to and how much money that has been saved.

Learn More: World No Tabacco Day

Stop Smoking EasyQuit

Price: free (contains ads) Reviews: 4.8 / 5.0 EasyQuit offers a number of money statistics including how much money has been saved since quitting. This quit smoking tracker also allows users to set a financial goal (such as a gift to a loved one), accompanied by a personal photo that can be uploaded to help motivate them to stay smoke free. There is a memory game to help users to get past the first 3 minutes after a craving begins, when the craving is most intense. The ‘Stop Smoking Slowly Mode’ allows users to wean themselves off of cigarettes over time. Users can build a custom quit plan accompanied by reminders to help you stick to it.There are 57 badges that can be unlocked as rewards to help motivate you to quit, providing some positive reinforcement. Scientific tips and stats are provided to help users become and stay smoke free. This includes a timeline of health benefits as you stay smoke free, as well as a countdown timer until certain health benefits are achieved. EasyQuit has good customization options such as the ability to create personal motivations to help you stay on track. Personalized themes are also available to help you quit in style.

Quit Smoking

Price: free (contains ads) Reviews: 4.7 / 5.0 Quit Smoking contains calculation features that show information such as quit date, money saved, cigarettes not smoked, and time saved by not smoking. This quit smoking app also monitors the progress of your health benefits as you continue to be smoke free. Quit Smoking contains a journal feature to help you explore your moods and cravings as well as what tips work or don’t work as you quit. In addition to these features, Quit Smoking has a widget that is automatically updated to provide current information on your phone without having to open the application.

Smoke Free

Price: Free (contains ads and in-app purchases) Reviews: 4.6 / 5.0 Smoke Free is one of the most used quit smoking apps with over 1 million downloads. Atop the features of monitoring health benefits, money saved by not smoking, etc.; this quit smoking app has an optional involvement into their research program where participants are granted access to experimental methods of quitting assistance. If you are interested in contributing to scientific discovery of new ways to help smokers quit, then this quit smoking app is the best opportunity. If you aren’t interested in participating in experimental methods you can rest assured that Smoke Free is committed to using evidence based methods.

Quit Smoking - Andrew Johnson

Price: $2.99 Reviews: 4.2 / 5.0 For people who are looking for an alternative method for quitting smoking they should consider Quit Smoking with Andrew Johnson. This quit smoking app is a self-hypnosis audio tool designed to help users achieve a deep state of relaxation to surpass urges to smoke. Clinical hypnosis is used to treat a number of physical and psychological ailments including pain control, weight, speech disorders, and substance dependencies. Hypnosis is an altered state of awareness, but only 1 in 4 people successfully achieve a state of hypnosis. Those who are successful experience hypnosis at varying levels of intensity. In theory, after achieving a state of hypnosis a person is more likely to be objective in how they view their addiction, allowing the conscious and unconscious mind to break free from addiction. There is debate on how hypnosis works, and it is not an approved therapy by the American Medical Association, but there is anecdotal evidence that shows hypnosis can be effective for certain people. More well-conducted studies are required to determine how effective hypnosis is for smoking cessation. Despite questions regarding the effectiveness of hypnosis for smoking cessation, there aren’t any negative consequences. If other methods haven’t worked, hypnosis may be worth a try.

Kwit

Price: free (contains ads and in-app purchases) Reviews: 4.1 / 5.0 This quit smoking app gamifies smoking cessation such that the process contains a bit of fun. Various game techniques, mechanics, and thinking strategies help you to quit. It also tracks your stats such as cigarettes not smoked, money saved, and days since you last cigarette.

Quit Tracker: Stop Smoking

Price: free (contains ads and in-app purchases) Reviews: 4.6 / 5.0 Quit tracker is a well reviewed quit smoking app that is mainly a quit smoking calculator. It calculates common statistics such as how much money has been saved, but it goes the extra distance and calculates how many days / hours / and minutes of life you have gained back by not smoking. This quit smoking app also calculates how much life you lost while you were smoking. That kind of calculation can be a powerful reminder of mortality and how smoking dramatically affects vitality. Beyond the unique calculations that Quit Tracker offers, they also offer a diary feature and health accomplishment benchmarks. Combined with the diary feature, you can track how many cravings you have and compare the data to health statistics with a quit smoking chart.

LIVESTRONG MyQuit Coach

Price: free (with ads), or $0.99 (with no ads) Reviews: 4.4 / 5.0 This quit smoking app is only available on iPhone, but it comes highly regarded as a quality quit smoking app. LIVESTRONG allows you to quit in a way that fits your lifestyle and preferences. You can choose to quit “cold-turkey” or gradually wane off of smoking. Whatever personal plan you chose, this quit smoking app serves as a virtual coach to help you through the process. It provides a quit smoking calculator that informs you of your progress towards a smoke-free life.

Sources:

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