A smartwatch app could be helpful as a stop-smoking aid, according to a study led by the University of Bristol.
The trial used a Mobvoi C2 Wear OS smartwatch and a specialised watch app to detect when someone may be about to smoke.
It would then send the person “app-generated text messages” to act as a reminder of their intention to quit smoking.
The Mobvoi C2 has gyroscope and accelerometer motion sensors, which can be used to attempt to tell when someone is performing the kind of hand gestures involved in smoking.
This small study tested 18 smokers over two weeks, after two original participants did not finish the test, and collated their feedback on the experiment.
In the abstract published by JMIR, the study’s authors claim the participants found the watch alerts made them feel more “mindful” about when they were smoking, and to “rethink my relationship with smoking”, for example.
“For those who are trying to give up, an initial lapse is a vulnerable moment, and risks leading to a full relapse to smoking,” says Chris Stone of the University of Bristol’s Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group, and Integrative Cancer Epidemiology Programme
He added: "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.”
The app is also used to tally the number of cigarettes a person has in a day, and how many drags they have taken.
The most common challenge within the study was that the watch’s battery ran out quickly. Mobvoi’s Ticwatch C2 is a Google Wear OS watch whose battery lasts just 1-2 days between charging, similar to an Apple Watch.
Some participants also found the watch a little bulky and reported they took it off for sleep, or when showering.
The study was a “feasibility and acceptability study”, a small-scale experiment intended to look into whether a watch app is a potentially sound platform for this kind of smoking cessation help.
Its abstract suggests it should be followed up by a “longer-term efficacy trial”.
