7 of the best apps for quitting smoking

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A quick look at seven of the best apps for quitting smoking

• Best for an easy-to-use interface: QuitNow
• Best for gamification: Kwit
• Best for missions: Smoke Free
• Best for cravings: Quit Smoking NOW with Max Kirsten
• Best for Android devices: Quit Tracker
• Best for progress tracking: Quit It Lite
• Best for community posts: Butt Out

This article looks at some of the best apps for quitting smoking. It also provides tips on how to stop smoking and discusses the risks of continuing to smoke cigarettes.

Medical News Today includes apps that are reputable and well-received with a range of price points and features.

Additionally, MNT considers:

• Health claims: MNT includes companies that make no questionable health claims.
• Trust: MNT includes companies that operate with transparency regarding their products, services, and leadership. Also, where relevant, these companies have certifications from reputable, third-party organizations.
• Business standards: MNT chooses companies that follow safe and ethical business and marketing practices.
• Reputation: MNT chooses companies that have no unresolved lawsuits or warnings from governing bodies and have positive standings with the Better Business Bureau.

Below are some apps that may help a person quit smoking.

Best for an easy-to-use interface: QuitNow

• Price: free with optional in-app purchases
• Platforms: iOS and Android
• Features: chat system and milestones

QuitNow has a clear, colorful, and easy-to-use interface. The creators state that the information in this app is based on World Health Organization (WHO) data.

The QuitNow community provides people with support and an arena where they can share their successes, struggles, and goals.

Additionally, people can view their milestones and achievements, read frequently asked questions, and view books that the community considers helpful for smoking cessation.

The app is free to download and use, but in-app purchases start from $2.99.

Best for gamification: Kwit

• Price: free with optional in-app purchases
• Platforms: iOS and Android
• Features: motivational messages and milestones

Kwit incorporates game thinking, mechanics, and design. The creators state that gamification may help keep quitting smoking fun, encouraging people to change their behavior.

The interface is clean and modern in design and full of useful statistics, such as how much time has passed since a person quit smoking, how much money they have saved, and the number of cigarettes that they have not smoked.

Shaking the phone displays motivational messages to help keep people on track. Kwit logs cigarettes that people may occasionally smoke. However, if a person does smoke a cigarette, their score on the app resets.

This app is free to download and use, but in-app purchases start from $6.49.

Best for missions: Smoke Free

• Price: free with optional in-app purchases
• Platforms: iOS and Android
• Features: milestone tracking and daily missions

Smoke Free tracks how much money a person has saved, how long they have been smoke-free, and how many cigarettes they have avoided. As people experience cravings, they can record them, get tips on how to avoid them, and use the Smoke Free tools to work out the patterns behind them.

The progress dashboard shows how a person’s health is improving by offering insights on blood pressure and oxygen and carbon monoxide levels. It also explains the likely changes in breathing, circulation, and lung cancer risk. People gain more badges during the time they remain smoke-free.

Each day, the app sets a new task or mission related to stopping smoking. Smoke Free says that people who commit to completing missions are more likely to cease smoking altogether.

Although this app is free to download and use, Smoke Free does offer in-app purchases that start from $0.99.

Best for cravings: Quit Smoking NOW with Max Kirsten

• Price: $6.99
• Platforms: iOS and Android
• Features: hypnotherapy and milestones

Max Kirsten is an award-winning clinical hypnotherapist to the stars and has helped several celebrities, including Ewan McGregor, Adele, Liam Payne, and Lily Allen, stop smoking. Kirsten has more than 15 years of experience in smoking cessation and says that thousands of people have successfully ceased smoking with the help of his advanced hypnosis app.

Kirsten claims that the app’s unique “60-second Cravings Buster” technique can prevent cravings, while hypnotherapy and advice on the app aim to prevent any weight gain as a result of quitting smoking.

A bright dashboard details the number of smoke-free days, the number of cigarettes people have not smoked, and the total money they have saved. The app includes many extras, such as up-to-date smoking news, 40-Fact cards, and smoking galleries.

People will have to pay $6.99 to install the app, but it does not offer any in-app purchases.

Best for Android devices: Quit Tracker

• Price: free
• Platforms: Android
• Features: virtual rewards and health statistics

Quit Tracker aims to help people stop smoking by offering them health-based statistics that reveal the benefits that quitting smoking is having on the body. The app also gamifies the process of quitting by presenting users with virtual rewards as time passes. Examples include movie tickets or sneakers that people can buy with the money they have saved.

Setup is quick and easy, with only one screen of questions to complete. The app aims to provide an uplifting and motivational experience, and each tab offers a different positive aspect of a person’s decision to quit. These aspects include money saved, life regained, and health benefits.

The app also includes a simple card matching game to help distract people if cravings return.

Upgrading to the premium version turns off the ads, adds a home screen widget, and increases the virtual rewards that people can achieve. Quit Tracker could be useful for an ex-smoker who would like to see positive motivational facts to keep them from restarting smoking.

While the app offers in-app purchases, no information on the costs is available on the Google Play store.

Best for progress tracking: Quit It Lite

• Price: free
• Platforms: iOS and Android
• Features: goals and progress tracker

Quit It Lite is a motivational app that aims to support and encourage people to stop smoking and stay smoke-free. The basic and straightforward interface allows people to input their smoking habits and costs per pack to view metrics on the cigarettes they have not smoked and the dollars they have saved.

The app’s health section lists the benefits of quitting smoking along with a percentage bar that shows in real time when people will achieve them. For example, there are progress bars that signal when a person’s blood pressure and pulse rate will return to baseline. Other progress bars predict changes in carbon monoxide and oxygen levels, reductions in the risk of heart attack, and improvements in lung function.

People can define their goals as an incentive to keep going, selecting anything from a cappuccino to a movie or musical ticket, and the app counts down until they have achieved their reward.

This app does not offer any in-app purchases.

Best for community posts: Butt Out

• Price: free on iOS, $2.99 on Android
• Platforms: iOS and Android
• Features: community chats and health improvement metrics

Butt Out is a visually bold app with cartoon-like graphics and bright colors. People can choose to quit smoking abruptly or gradually cease smoking over a set period.

Butt Out tracks cravings and presents real-time progress through the use of a graph and health improvement indicators. The app provides encouragement not to give up if people miss their targets or smoke a cigarette. It also displays motivational pictures and quotes.

People can also use the online community chat feature to speak with other app users.

This app does not offer in-app purchases.

The below table compares the apps in this article.

People may wish to consider the following factors when looking for an app:

• Price: People should ensure that the app they wish to use fits their budget. Many apps are free to download but may offer in-app purchases.
• Platform: People should check that the app they wish to download is available on their platform of choice, such as iOS or Android.
• Features: Some people may want a simple and easy-to-read interface, whereas others may prefer badges, achievements, and community chat functions.

There are various approaches to quitting smoking, and different ones will work better for different people.

Going cold turkey

Quitting smoking abruptly, known as “going cold turkey,” means that a person does not smoke any cigarettes or use any smoking cessation help.

A small 2019 study involving 130 people found that quitting smoking abruptly led to longer periods of not smoking than other interventions.

This supports the findings of a 2016 study, which showed that quitting abruptly is likely to lead to longer abstinence than gradually cutting down the number of cigarettes a person smokes.

Learn more about quitting smoking cold turkey.

Using nicotine replacement therapy (NRT)

Many NRT options are available, including patches, gums, and sprays.

Transdermal patches provide the body with nicotine at a sustained and steady rate. People can choose different strengths depending on how many cigarettes they smoke and the severity of their withdrawal symptoms.

Other NRT options deliver an acute amount of nicotine to the body. These fast-acting products may be more beneficial for people who are experiencing more intense withdrawal symptoms. More intense symptoms can lead to a person continuing to smoke or ending a period of abstinence.

Using medication

Healthcare professionals may recommend taking bupropion (Wellbutrin) or varenicline (Chantix) to support the process of quitting smoking.

The manufacturers of bupropion originally formulated it as an antidepressant, but it may help smoking cessation. Research suggests that it is more effective than quitting smoking cold turkey and may be more effective still if a person uses it alongside NRT.

Learn more about bupropion.

Varenicline works by reducing nicotine cravings and withdrawal symptoms. However, this medication may increase the risk of cardiovascular events in people with cardiovascular disease. Research is ongoing to investigate this link.

A person who quits smoking abruptly without any other therapies, such as NRT, typically experiences:

• mood changes
• headaches
• insomnia
• sweating more than usual
• cognition changes

These symptoms peak 2–3 days after quitting smoking. However, NRT and other smoking cessation help can reduce the severity of withdrawal symptoms.

Learn more about nicotine withdrawal.

Cigarettes contain nicotine, which is highly addictive. Research suggests that the addictive properties of nicotine can overwhelm a person’s desire to quit smoking despite the risks to health and well-being.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), smoking cigarettes is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States, where it accounts for more than 480,000 deaths each year.

About 30.8 million adults in the U.S. currently smoke cigarettes, and more than 16 million are living with a smoking-related illness. Smoking damages almost every organ in the body and increases the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, and several other types of cancer.

Learn more about the risks of smoking.

Below, we answer some common questions about apps to quit smoking.

How do I quit smoking without withdrawal symptoms?

Nicotine in cigarettes or other products, such as vape liquid with nicotine, causes withdrawal symptoms if a person stops using it.

NRT can help reduce or prevent cravings and symptoms. However, people may still experience withdrawal symptoms when they stop using NRT.

Can an app help me reduce the amount I smoke?

Apps may help a person reduce the amount they smoke by motivating them with virtual rewards, such as milestone achievements and badges.

People can choose from a range of apps that aim to help them cut down on the amount they smoke.

Several apps are available that can help a person quit smoking. These apps aim to motivate people through health statistics, milestone tracking, and community support.

People may also use other approaches, such as NRT and medication, to help them abstain from smoking.