Helping Smokers To Quit Using Their Mobile Phones

Quitting smoking has never been easy, but it is a habit that more and more people are trying to give up, especially with more laws than ever before banning smoking in public places and now in the UK from October 2015 in cars.

Bedfont Scientific Ltd, a pioneer in smoking cessation monitors, has combined the drive to quit smoking with the ever-growing use of technology and applications to create the latest CO monitor that connects to your smartphone or tablet.

Bedfont has produced the Smokerlyzer® for 30 years which offers an easy to use hand-held and non-invasive way to test the level of Carbon Monoxide (CO) in a patient’s blood. They recognise that mobile phones and tablets play a significant part in consumers’ lives and wanted to adapt the technology so that CO monitoring could be more accessible to those who do not have the time to consult a specialist, and so iCO was born.

Due to be launched November 2015, the iCO Smokerlyzer is small, sleek and portable. Once you have the app, the monitor is easy to use and instant readings can be downloaded to your personal profile, meaning you can track your progress, and be motivated, anytime, anywhere.

Using a monitor to assist with quitting is proven to improve end results. A study by Beard and West (2012) on the effectiveness of personal carbon monoxide monitoring, found that out of ten smokers, “seven of the smokers reported that they felt as though the monitors had reduced their cigarette consumption… Six smokers reported a lower nicotine dependency relative to baseline. Over the six weeks there appeared to be a significant decline in the number of cigarettes smoked per day”.

Beard, E. and West, R. (2012). Pilot Study of the Use of Personal Carbon Monoxide Monitoring to Achieve Radical Smoking Reduction. J. Smok Cessat, 7(01), pp.12-17. (Accessed: 19th October 2015).

The iCO offers consumers the opportunity to save money, and take control of their quitting progress, one breath at a time.