Quitting smoking with help from your cell phone
Switching to light cigarettes isn't going to help kick the habit, says a new study released this week, but playing a game on your cell phone may be an alternative to smoking in the future.
Called "Lit: A Game Intervention for Nicotine Smokers," involves breathing into a microphone and is accompanied by sounds, colors, images and challenges to mimic the stimulant and relaxing effects of smoking.
The game is intended to be an alternative to smoking with the ultimate goal of reducing or eliminating tobacco completely.
Effects of the game will be evaluated through emotional and physiological responses, such as heart rates, and compared to subjects after smoking or after playing the game and not smoking.
If the game is a success, it will emulate the effects of smoking as replacement therapy for smokers who want to quit.
The research is part of $1.85 million in grants given to nine leading research teams on how digital games might improve health. It is sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The article "Quitting smoking with help from your cell phone" was publised on November 9th, 2009 in the "foodconsumer.org" website. http://www.foodconsumer.org/newsite/Non-food/Lifestyle/quitting_smoking_with_help_from_your_cell_phone_081120090622.html
Published Monday, Nov. 9, 2009