ACT and smoking cessation using a smartphone application (SmartQuit™)

Abstract

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is a third wave behavioural therapy, which encourages individuals to stop fighting their internal experiences (e.g. thoughts, feelings, and memories) and teaches individuals techniques to help them accept these internal experiences for what they are. SmartQuit™ is a smartphone application for smoking cessation based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy principles. SmartQuit™ consists of eight effective activities, each of which provides the user with techniques to deal with cravings to smoke cigarettes. My first aim was to examine whether using SmartQuit™, would lead to reductions in cigarette intake. My second aim was to determine whether scores obtained on the Commitment to Quit Scale would predict smoking outcomes at post-intervention and follow-up phases. I used a single-subject, A-B-A-C design across 10 participants to examine the feasibility of a smartphone app targeting smoking cessation (SmartQuit™), with a New Zealand population. Most participants showed a significant reduction in cigarette intake and a noticeable reduction in cravings to smoke cigarettes. In conclusion, the results of the current study suggest that SmartQuit™ is well suited for smoking cessation, with a New Zealand population. However, given the small sample size, a larger evaluation may be required.