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Dietary Sources and Health Advice

El servicio de nutrición y dietética es prestado por la colegiada Doña Verónica Abad, con n.º de colegiada COPTESSCV3193 en el Colegio Oficial de Dietistas y Nutricionistas de la Comunitat Valenciana.

Introduction

Quitting smoking is a challenging journey that often requires more than willpower alone. It is rare to stop smoking on the first attempt, especially without support, according to mayoclinic.org. Having guidance, tools, and a plan significantly improves the chances of success. This comprehensive quit-smoking app offers a holistic set of features to help smokers become tobacco-free. It offers guided breathing and relaxation exercises, daily mood tracking with “emotional interviews”, on-demand tips for managing stress, personal goal-setting, and evidence-based health data from the World Health Organisation (WHO). Uniquely, it even includes a quit-smoking guide inspired by Allen Carr’s renowned method. The app is available in English, broadening its accessibility. Below, we explore the app’s key features and why they matter for someone looking to quit smoking.

Stress Management with Breathing & Relaxation

Breathing exercises and relaxation techniques are built into the app to help users cope with nicotine cravings and stress in the moment. Deep breathing is a proven way to calm the mind and reduce the intensity of cravings, smokefree.gov. Smoking is often used as a stress-reliever, so the app teaches healthier alternatives like guided deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, or short mindfulness sessions. Health experts note that if cigarettes were used to deal with stress, it is important to “try other ways to relax, such as deep breathing, muscle relaxation, yoga, visualisation, or listening to calming music”mayoclinic.org. By practising these techniques when a craving strikes, users can ride out the urge without reaching for a cigarette. Over time, this helps the body’s stress response return to normal. The breathing and relaxation tools in the app give smokers a practical, on-the-go method to stay calm and smoke-free during high-stress moments.

Daily Mood Tracking & Emotional Interviews

The app takes a unique approach to identifying trigger moments through daily emotional interviews and mood tracking. Each day, users are prompted to log their mood and answer brief questions – essentially an “emotional check-in.” Thishelps pinpoint patterns, revealing when and why cravings tend to hit hardest. Many smokers light up in response to intense emotions: feeling stressed, anxious, bored, happy, or sad can trigger the urge to smoke. By tracking these feelings, the app can alert users to their most vulnerable times. For example, a user might discover they are most tempted in the late evening when feeling lonely, or during work deadlines when anxious. Awareness of these patterns is powerful – it allows the smoker to anticipate cravings and prepare coping strategies (like using the breathing exercises or having a distraction ready).

Emotional tracking is backed by research showing a strong link between mood and tobacco use. In fact, sadness and stress have been found to increase cravings and even the likelihood of relapse significantly. Harvard researchers observed that sadness, in particular, is a potent trigger that drives people to smoke more and inhale more deeply (hks.harvard.edu). Armed with the app’s personalised insights, users can recognise “I am feeling down – this is a danger zone for me,” and consciously choose a healthier response. The daily emotional interviews essentially turn self-reflection into a tool against relapse, making the user an active participant in understanding and overcoming their addiction triggers.

On-Demand Tips for Managing Stressful Moments

In addition to preventive tracking, the app offers immediate tips and guidance to handle cravings and stress in real time. These are practical suggestions and exercises to help users “get through the moment” when a nicotine craving strikes. For instance, the app might prompt a user to delay smoking and do a quick activity, such as drinking water, taking a brisk walk, or playing a short game on the app, to distract the mind. Such tips echo the advice of cessation experts – e.g., use the 5 D’s strategy (Delay, Distract, Deep breathe, Drink water, Discuss feelings) to ride out cravings. The app consolidates these techniques so that whenever the user feels the urge, they can open the app and find a suggestion to help cope. Another feature might be a “panic button” for stress: tapping it could bring up a calming exercise (like a 1-minute breathing bubble animation) or a motivational message. Since fighting a craving can itself cause stress, having quick relaxation methods at hand is key. The app’s tips also include reminders of the user’s own reasons for quitting – for example, it might display the top personal motivations they entered (health, family, saving money) as a flash card during a craving. By combining strategy and emotional support at the critical moments, these on-demand tips help smokers navigate acute stress without giving in to tobacco.

Personal Goals and Health Milestones

Setting personal quitting goals and tracking progress are integral parts of this app. Users can set achievable goals – such as a quit date, a target number of smoke-free days, or a target number of cigarettes per day – and the app will help monitor these objectives. Behavioural experts emphasise that having clear, measurable goals and regularly tracking them sustains motivation during a quit attempt (researchgate.net). The app acts like a personal coach, celebrating incremental victories and keeping the next milestone in sight. For example, if a user’s goal is “no smoking for 1 week,” the app might show a daily countdown and then congratulate them at 7 days smoke-free with a badge or reward. Progress tracking and milestone recognition serve as powerful motivational tools in smoking cessation by providing continuous feedback on how far you have come. This app leverages that principle: it presents tangible evidence of improvement – days smoke-free, cigarettes avoided, money saved, and even health indicators – which gives the user a sense of accomplishment and control. Seeing these numbers grow can reinforce one’s resolve to stay quit. In fact, research finds that showing smokers their progress (for instance, how many days they have abstained or how much cash they have not spent on cigarettes) enhances self-efficacy and brings long-term goals closer psychologically (researchgate.net). In short, by turning abstract benefits into concrete stats, the app keeps the quitter’s morale high and their eyes on the prize.

WHO-Backed Health Improvement Data

A standout evidence-based feature is the inclusion of health improvement data from the World Health Organisation. The app educates users on exactly how their health is rebounding with each smoke-free day, using official WHO metrics. Quitting smoking yields both immediate and long-term health benefits, and seeing these can be highly motivating. For example, the WHO notes that within 20 minutes of one’s last cigarette, heart rate and blood pressure begin to return to normal (WHO.int). After 12 hours, carbon monoxide levels in the blood normalise. Within a few weeks, circulation and lung function start to improve, and in a matter of months, breathing becomes easier as coughing and shortness of breath decrease. Over the longer term, the risk of major diseases plummets: 1 year after quitting, the risk of coronary heart disease is cut in half compared to a smoker’s who.int, and after 5–15 years smokefree, the risk of stroke drops to that of a never-smoker who.int. The app presents these kinds of facts (and many more) in sync with the user’s quit timeline. By inputting their quit date, users get a personalised feed like: “Day 2: Your carbon monoxide levels are back to normal. You might already notice it is easier to breathe!” or “Month 3: Your lung function is improving; coughing and shortness of breath are diminishing.” Seeing authoritative data from the WHO about how each day without cigarettes heals the body provides positive reinforcement. It shifts focus from the discomfort of withdrawal to the tangible health gains the user is earning. This feature effectively turns the WHO’s cessation benefits into a real-time progress bar for health, making recovery visible. It reassures users that even if quitting feels hard now, their body is rapidly repairing itself, which can strengthen their commitment to stay tobacco-free.

WHO-Backed Health Improvement Data

Beyond general health milestones, the app generates personalised statistics based on the individual’s own journey and daily inputs. Every mood log, craving resisted, and cigarette not smoked feeds into a personal dashboard. This might include stats like: “You have resisted 50 cravings this week,” “Stress level was highest on Monday, when you felt 8/10 anxious,” or “Mornings have been your easiest time – 0 urges recorded before 10 AM.” Such data helps users gain insight into their behaviour and progress. The app can highlight, for instance, that weekends are when the user is most tempted, or that improvement is happening (e.g., fewer intense cravings this week than last).

Importantly, the app tallies the classic metrics that many ex-smokers love to watch: total days smoke-free, cigarettes avoided, money saved, and life expectancy gained. These numbers update in real time, giving the quitter a sense of reward. For example, seeing that they have saved, say, $100 and avoided 200 cigarettes in a month can be eye-opening and motivating. By visually presenting the user with tangible evidence of their progress – days smoke-free, money saved, improved health metrics – the app boosts their confidence and reinforces why quitting is worthwhile. This personalised analytic feedback loop is not just informative, but also taps into gamification elements (like earning badges or streaks), which are known to improve engagement. In smoking cessation, tracking progress and celebrating milestones are proven tactics to keep people motivated and engaged in the long run.

Allen Carr Method-Inspired Guide

A feature that differentiates this app is its built-in guide inspired by Allen Carr’s book “The Easy Way to Stop Smoking.” Allen Carr’s method is a famous psychological approach to quitting, focused on changing how smokers think about cigarettes. The inclusion of an Allen Carr-inspired eBook or course within the app means users have access to a structured quit program in addition to the app’s interactive tools. Carr’s method has been highly popular worldwide and even adopted by health services such as the UK’s National Health Service (NHS). en.wikipedia.org (The NHS offers Allen Carr’s seminars as part of their official stop-smoking services after trials showed the method can be effective and cost-effective.) By drawing on this approach, the app provides mindset-focused coaching to complement its behavioural features. The guide likely walks users through understanding nicotine addiction, dispelling the myths that keep them hooked, and removing the psychological fear of quitting – all hallmarks of Carr’s philosophy. Having this resource at one’s fingertips is convenient; users can read or listen to chapters whenever they need a motivational boost or a shift in perspective. Essentially, the app not only tracks data and provides tips, but also dives into the cognitive aspect of addiction, aiming to instil a lasting change in the user’s attitude toward smoking. This combination of behavioural tools and cognitive coaching can make the process of quitting more comprehensive. It is like getting a support group, a therapist, and a health coach all in one app. For smokers who are fans of Allen Carr’s method (which has helped millions of people quit smoking since the 1980s), this integration adds immense value and credibility to the app’s content.

Availability and Unique Highlights

The app is available in multiple languages, including English, making it accessible to a global audience (which is important for an app with WHO global health content). All features – from the breathing exercises to the daily interviews and Allen Carr-inspired guide – are offered in English. This ensures that English-speaking users can fully benefit from the techniques and insights provided.

Among the array of features, perhaps the most standout element is the Daily Emotional Interview system. While many quit-smoking apps track basic stats or send tips, this app’s approach of engaging the user in a self-reflective dialogue each day is novel. By asking personalised questions about mood and cravings, and then tailoring feedback to the answers, the app delivers truly individualised support. It is like having a friendly counsellor check in every day to say, “How are you feeling, and how can we help you not smoke today?” This level of personalisation can make users feel understood and supported emotionally, which is often lacking in generic quit plans. It also transforms what could be a solitary struggle into an interactive experience, keeping the user mindful of their emotional health as they quit. In summary, the emotional interview feature not only identifies triggers with precision, but also helps the user develop emotional resilience – a critical factor in sustaining long-term abstinence from smoking.

Conclusion

Quitting smoking is a multifaceted challenge, and this app addresses it from all angles – physical, psychological, and behavioural. By combining relaxation techniques, self-awareness through mood tracking, just-in-time coping tips, goal setting with positive reinforcement, and evidence-based education, the app creates a comprehensive support system in the user’s pocket. It leverages proven strategies endorsed by health experts and organisations (such as deep breathing for stress relief, smokefree.gov, and WHO’s health improvement timelines). It marries them with innovative tools (like mood-driven analytics and an Allen Carr-inspired quit guide). The result is an empowering digital companion for anyone determined to quit smoking. With such a holistic toolkit, smokers are not only informed of the benefits of quitting but are actively guided and motivated to achieve a smoke-free life. Whether one is just contemplating quitting or already on the journey, this app offers structure, encouragement, and insight – helping turn the daunting task of quitting into a series of manageable, rewarding steps toward better health and freedom from tobacco.

References

Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA), 2020. The 5 D’s for Craving Control. [online] Available at: https://www.cpha.ca/5-ds-craving-control [Accessed Nov. 2025].

Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), 2021. Sadness a powerful trigger for cigarette cravings. [online] Available at: https://www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty-research/policy-topics/health/sadness-powerful-trigger-cigarette-cravings [Accessed Nov. 2025].

Mayo Clinic, 2022. Quit Smoking: Strategies to Help You Quit. [online] Available at: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/quit-smoking/in-depth/stop-smoking/art-20045452 [Accessed Nov. 2025].

ResearchGate, 2021. Tracking behavior change in smoking cessation: Gamification and self-monitoring approaches. [online] Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351724578_Tracking_behavior_change_in_smoking_cessation [Accessed Nov. 2025].

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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), 2020. Smoking Cessation: A Report of the Surgeon General – Key findings. [online] Available at: https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/reports-and-publications/tobacco/index.html [Accessed Nov. 2025].

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