Starting the habit is easy, but quitting can feel nearly impossible sometimes – even for those with a willpower of steel. But I bet you never thought your phone could be a tool to help you quit smoking.
What’s the best app for quitting smoking?
The answer depends on what the biggest stumbling block you’re encountering in your effort to quit. Do you need help sticking to your goals or help remembering you why you decided to quit in the first place? Or maybe you need help avoiding your triggers altogether. Luckily for you, many quit smoking apps offer a variety of tools to help you stay strong during your hour of “I think I need.” Here are a few of our favorites:
LIVESTRONG My Quit Coach: 4.4 out of 5 stars on Android and iOS
My Quit Coach is one of the most customizable apps on the market for quitting smoking. Most other apps offer a single approach – but if that approach doesn’t work, you are stuck searching for a new option. My Quit Coach allows you to choose from a variety of plans, with varying rewards and support options. Not-so-surprisingly, this results in a higher success rate than the one size fits all approach to quitting.
Quit Smoking: Cessation Nation: 4.5 out of 5 stars on Android (similar app on iOS)
If you’re smoking a pack a day, it’s easy to spend $200 on cigarettes in a single week. Saving that money is a big motivation for some people to quit smoking, and even if it’s not your motivation, you can’t deny that it’s a perk. Cessation Nation keeps a running tally of how much money you’re saving based on the last time you smoked a cigarette and the health benefits you’re reaping by not smoking.
QuitNow!: 4.3 out of 5 stars on Android and iOS
QuitNow! has a milestone system that gives you a new goal to work towards and it has a built-in chat function that allows you to talk to other people who are quitting. This chat function has over 2 million users supporting each other and encouraging you to stay on track. People who use QuitNow! often credit their success to the ability to talk to other people.
My Last Cigarette – Stop Smoking Stay Quit: 4.7 out of 5 stars on Android and iOS
This awkwardly named app provides a daily motivational message, health facts, your average savings by not smoking, your nicotine levels, the number of cigarettes you haven’t smoked – plus a ton of other motivation boosters when you’re starting to feel the cravings coming back. And also one semi-morbid motivational statistic: the number of cancer-related deaths that have occurred since you’ve quit. If that doesn’t make you want to stay away, I don’t know what will.
Butt Out: 4.6 out of 5 stars on Android and iOS
By using colorful, easy-to-read charts and graphs, Butt Out helps you understand your health benefits and tracks your progress. And, hey, slip-ups and stumbles happen to the best of us. Rather than making you feel bad about those slip-ups, this app offers encouragement and support if it happens.
Easy Quit: 4.8 out of 5 stars on Android (sorry, iOS)
So maybe we saved the best for last. If seeing your health, your savings, community support, and getting motivational tidbits just aren’t going to cut it… how about if we throw in a game to keep you occupied when the urge to smoke hits? Maybe one of these methods on their own won’t be super effective, but all of them together may help you get through it as painlessly as possible.
