Phone apps nearly 3 times as good as no/basic support for quitting smoking long term

(Press-News.org) Smartphone apps—particularly those based on psychological theories—are 3 times as effective as no/minimal support at helping people who smoke stub out their tobacco use long term, suggests a pooled data analysis of the available evidence, published in the online journal BMJ Evidence Based Medicine.

 

If high quality clinical trials can confirm lasting benefits and key features, these apps could become a cornerstone of global tobacco control efforts, suggest the researchers.

 

Smartphone apps offer an accessible and versatile approach to smoking cessation efforts. But the current body of evidence has been hindered by small study numbers and app obsolescence, say the researchers.

 

Most currently available smoking cessation apps adopt either traditional behavioural frameworks, focused on directly modifying smoking behaviour, or psychological-behavioural theories, targeting cognition, emotion regulation, and motivation through techniques such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy, and mindfulness, explain the researchers.

 

But it’s not clear which approach might be more effective for improving sustained abstinence.

 

To strengthen and update the evidence base, the researchers assessed the effectiveness of smartphone apps, when used alone or when combined with traditional approaches, such as nicotine replacement therapy and counselling, for helping people quit smoking and stay away from tobacco long term (6 months continuously).

 

They trawled research databases for relevant randomised controlled trials published up to August 2025 of people aged at least 15 who planned to quit smoking. Comparisons included: no intervention; minimal smoking cessation support; traditional interventions; and apps based on traditional behavioural interventions.

 

Certainty of the evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach.

 

The data from a total of 31 eligible studies, involving 12,802 participants, were pooled. Low certainty evidence from 4 studies (1402 participants) suggests that smartphone apps used alone may nearly triple the rate of 6-month continuous abstinence, increasing the number of ‘abstainers’ by 40 in every 1000, compared with no or minimal smoking cessation support.

 

When combined with traditional interventions, these apps may nearly double 6-month continuous abstinence compared with traditional interventions alone (4 studies involving 2163 participants; low certainty evidence).

 

And based on data from 3 studies (1502 participants; low certainty evidence), these apps plus pharmacotherapy may improve 6-month continuous abstinence by 77% compared with pharmacotherapy alone.

 

High certainty evidence indicated that apps based on psychological behavioural theories significantly increased abstinence in the short term at 3 months (69%; 2 studies, 2565 participants) and in the long term at 6 months (36%; 4 studies, 3258 participants) compared with apps based on traditional behavioural interventions.

 

“Smartphone apps can deliver intensive, interactive and real-time behavioural support, exceeding the effect of brief advice. A clear dose–response relationship exists between counselling intensity and quit success, and apps help meet this need while bypassing barriers such as limited clinic capacity, staff time, and declining use of telephone quitlines,” point out the researchers.

 

“Consequently, smartphone apps represent a scalable alternative or adjunct to traditional cessation services, particularly in resource-limited settings,” they suggest.

 

But the certainty of the evidence remains low due to limited sample sizes and methodological limitations, including design variations in the apps and their use, caution the researchers, adding that the findings “should be viewed as generating a hypothesis for future research rather than as a definitive conclusion.”

 

They conclude: “Should future evidence confirm lasting benefits and pinpoint key features, rigorously validated apps could become a cornerstone of global tobacco control efforts.”

 

END