E-Paper
World No Tobacco Day: App bazaar, social media abuzz with kick-tobacco drives
Quit tobacco App bazaar, social media and online anti-tobacco support campaigns have begun to draw more aspirants than the traditional counsellers, as per a random survey on the eve of the World No Tobacco Day.
Quit tobacco App bazaar, social media and online anti-tobacco support campaigns have begun to draw more aspirants than the traditional counsellers, as per a random survey on the eve of the World No Tobacco Day.
Online campaigners claim that there is a full Facebook page ‘ýTobacco Free Madhya Pradesh’ where its creators are sharing messages, pictures and articles related to tobacco addiction.
Sharing her concerns on the FB page, Divya Parashar, who is a top management executive says, “Madhya Pradesh has a very high prevalence of tobacco consumption. As per GATS (Global Adult Tobacco Survey) 2010, nearly 1.9 crore people use tobacco in some form or the other in your state. This is quite alarming and it needs urgent action. It is estimated that 1 crore people in Madhya Pradesh may die an untimely death or be diseased with serious illnesses such as cancers, heart diseases, respiratory diseases etc.”
Parashar, who is also head of the department of Social Oncology of the Jawaharlal Nehru Cancer Hospital and Research Centre Bhopal, has started her own Facebook page Tobacco Free Madhya Pradesh. In fact, there are many like her whose messages are drawing many would-be tobacco quitters.
N Ganesh, who is a senior scientist at Jawaharlal Nehru Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, says the reason people have started turning to the online support is because unlike support groups for which you have to take out time and travel to the place where the group meets regularly, online support groups are accessible through smartphones and laptops anytime by a person who wants to quit smoking.
“We have a tobacco cessation clinic at our hospital, one of the only kinds in the state, but people hardly visit it. And those who come don't take it that seriously. So last year, we decided to extend our efforts to social media. Divya Parashar’s page is a step in that direction," he says.
There are scores of pages on Facebook catering to different groups and aspirations.
There are pages like Smoke free women, quit smoking hypnotherapy, quit smoking today, quit smoking group and so on.
Illustration: Abhimanyu Sinha
Such groups continuously share experiences and tips on quitting smoking. Many youngsters have found such online groups helpful to sustain their motivation to leave the addiction.
“Quitting smoking is very difficult, but when I visited some FB pages and online support groups, I became aware that I was not alone. There were many like me who had quit smoking and then again started. But they were trying again. Reading accounts of such people trying to quit smoking helped me to muster courage to try quitting. I have quit two times, but this time I am hopeful that I will succeed like so many others whom I encountered in the online support and awareness groups,” says Shivang Singh, who has just completed his engineering.
QUIT SMOKE APPS
Quit smoking - QuitNow! This app offers you real-time stats-the time (days, hours, minutes) since the last cigarette of your life, how many cigarettes you have avoided, money and time you have saved and so on. You can also share your experiences and chat with other quitters
Quit smoking slowly This app claims to help you slowly reduce the amount of cigarettes per day and let your body adapt to less cigarettes daily
Stop Smoking Hypnosis This app claims that repeated hypnotic suggestions and a strong focus can help you kick the smoking habit.
Quit Smoking Cessation Nation This app helps you to know the benefits of quitting smoking by keeping track of amount of money you’ve saved, cigarettes not smoked, and health improvements.
Time To Quit Smoke This app also tracks the benefits of quitting smoking
Stop Smoking Fast Hypnosis App This app how hypnosis can be used to be free from tobacco addiction
Kick the Habit Quit Smoking This app is designed for both -people who wish to quit over time and those who want to quit immediately.
My Quit Smoking Coach Its makers claim this interactive App was designed by professional non-smoking coaches and helps you quit by motivating you and keeping track of your progress
STOP Cigarettes - Quit smoking This app provides tips, tasks and targets based on the studies, which can help you overcome nicotine addiction
Stop Smoking Through this app you can set small goals that are easy to achieve and receive notification every day in order to support your motivation.
