Quit Smoking By Smashing Virtual Cigarette Butts On Your iPhone

Are you trying to quit smoking? Do you like fiddling around with your phone? Perfect! Nicot, a $6 iOS app developed from a study by the Canada Research Chair in Clinical Cyberpsychology and the University of Quebec in Outaouais, charges smokers to crush virtual cigarettes in hopes that it will help them vanquish real ones too.

In a study of nearly 100 smokers, those who crushed the digital cigs (as opposed to playing with virtual balls) in four weekly sessions were 15 per cent more likely to be successful in quitting smoking. Using the app in combination with other aids, like patches or gum, increased that success rate to 50 per cent. And if $US5 for an app seems a bit steep, remind yourself how much you’re paying for a pack these days.