Do smoking apps work for people with serious mental illness? Insights from our latest research
Written by Dr Chelsea Sawyer
With Stoptober, the 28-day stop smoking challenge, starting on 1 October, more smokers are likely to be thinking about quitting. This is no easy feat for anyone, let alone people with serious mental illnesses like schizophrenia, who are generally more likely to be heavier smokers. [1] However, there are many benefits to quitting, with improvements in both physical and mental health including cardiometabolic health, anxiety, depression, and stress, and supporting people with mental illness to quit could help reduce health disparities. [2]
Smoking apps are becoming increasingly popular as a tool to help people stop smoking and have been proven to be effective for many people, but it is unclear if they work in the same way for people with serious mental illness. We recently published a literature review in Behavioural Sciences examining this question and whether smoking cessation apps, could be effective for people with schizophrenia. The findings were promising and suggested that apps that improve motivation by incorporating gaming, rewards and social support, may be particularly beneficial for this population.
We’re now looking for people to take part in a new study to test the feasibility of the Smoke Free app, which includes 24/7 live support and gaming, in people using Early Intervention Services for psychosis.
Please get in touch by following this link if you’d like to find out more.
[1] Myles N, Newall HD, Curtis J, Nielssen O, Shiers D, Large M. Tobacco use before, at, and after first-episode psychosis: a systematic meta-analysis. The Journal of clinical psychiatry. 2012 Apr 15;73(4):21015.
