Text Messages Could Help You Quit Smoking

Submitted by Mark Berman Thu 07/07/2011

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You may be holding the key to quitting smoking in the palm of your hand, literally. A new study says motivational text messages on your cell phone can help you kick the habit.

CBS News reports that the study by the medical journal The Lancet set up half of 5,800 study participants with an anti-smoking program called "txt2stop."

They received messages such as, "TODAY is the start of being QUIT forever, you do it." Other messages were likely more grammatically correct.

They were also able to send the words "crave" and "lapse" to the company when they wanted to smoke. They would get such responses as, "Cravings last less than 5 minutes on average. To help distract yourself, try sipping a drink slowly until the craving is over."

Well, the messages worked. The study said 10.7% of the people who got the texts were successful in quitting smoking, while 4.9% of those who did not get the messages were able to stop.

The Lancet writes:

The txt2stop smoking cessation program significantly improved smoking cessation rates at 6 months and should be considered for inclusion in smoking cessation services.

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