Smartphone Apps May Boost Smoking Cessation

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 14, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Smartphone apps may aid smoking cessation, especially combined with traditional interventions, according to a review published online Jan. 13 in BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine.

Shuilian Chu, from Capital Medical University in Beijing, and colleagues conducted a systematic literature review to assess the efficacy of smartphone apps for smoking cessation used alone or combined with traditional interventions.

The researchers identified 31 randomized controlled trials (12,802 participants). Four studies (1,402 participants) showed low-certainty evidence that smartphone apps used alone may improve six-month continuous abstinence rates versus no or minimal support (relative risk [RR], 2.85; I² = 0 percent). Smartphone apps, when combined with traditional interventions, may increase six-month continuous abstinence versus traditional interventions alone (RR, 1.9; I² = 85.7 percent), based on low-certainty evidence in four studies (2,163 participants). There was low-certainty evidence from three studies (1,502 participants) that smartphone apps combined with pharmacotherapy may improve six-month continuous abstinence versus pharmacotherapy alone (RR, 1.77; I² = 86.0 percent). Psychological behavioral theories-based apps significantly increased seven-day point prevalence abstinence versus traditional behavioral apps, with high-certainty evidence, at three months (RR, 1.69, I² = 0 percent; two studies; 2,565 participants) and six months (RR, 1.36; I² = 0 percent; four studies; 3,258 participants).

“Smartphone apps can deliver intensive, interactive and real-time behavioral support, exceeding the effect of brief advice,” the authors write. “A clear dose-response relationship exists between counseling intensity and quit success, and apps help meet this need while bypassing barriers such as limited clinic capacity, staff time, and declining use of telephone quitlines.”

Abstract/Full Text