5 Free iPhone Apps to Help You Quit Smoking

Smoke Free

The Smoke-Free app by David Crane is loaded with features that help with tracking your progress when you quit smoking. It provides a quit meter that displays up-to-the-second time you've been smoke-free, the number of cigarettes you haven't smoked, along with a calculation of the time and money you've saved by not smoking.

Start on a Mission

Every morning, the app gives users a mission to focus on for the day. The missions help change unhealthy attitudes about smoking, manage cravings through education, and improve self-esteem.

For example, one mission asks you to think about when you typically smoke. Is it first thing in the morning, after meals, or during breaks at work? You're then encouraged to come up with a plan for managing those events (triggers) without lighting up. This is a useful exercise in thinking ahead and staying in control.

You learn to identify and avoid potential pitfalls that can lead to relapse, make meaningful lists, and create notes that provide tangible proof of the progress you've made. Milestones are celebrated with badges.

Keep a Diary

The diary feature allows you to track and analyze triggers to smoke, with reminders to make a daily entry about how you felt and managed that day smoke-free. The diary is a particularly helpful feature because the logs can be reviewed whenever you are struggling. 

Participate in Data Tracking

The developers of Smoke Free collect user data to further understand smoking behavior and create improvements to the app. You can take part in this project or opt out.

Quit It Lite

Once you plug your quit date and time into Quit It Lite, it prominently displays the time that is elapsing, down to the very second, since you quit smoking. From there, you can see how long until you accomplish your health goals related to quitting and earn rewards.

Track the Benefits of Quitting

The "Health" section of the Quit It Lite app lists the many amazing health benefits of quitting smoking. From your blood pressure and pulse rate returning to normal to smoking breath disappearing, you can watch Quit It Lite count down the seconds, in real-time, until you've reached 100% on each goal.

Set Goals

In the "Goals" tab, Quit It Lite lets you personalize the items you want to treat yourself to with all the money you save when you no longer buy cigarettes. The app gives you some starter ideas—from a cappuccino for $3.50 to a musical ticket for $90.

Research shows that saving money can be a factor that significantly motivates some people to quit smoking. This app can help you keep your financial savings (and health goals) front and center so you remember why you quit and stick to your new, nicotine-free lifestyle.

QuitGuide

QuitGuide by ICF International was created by the Tobacco Control Research Branch at the National Cancer Institute. The app creators also consulted with tobacco control professionals and real people who've successfully quit smoking.

Once you've downloaded the app, it prompts you to select a quit date and gives you the option to share this with friends on social media. Next, you'll answer some questions about how often you smoke, when you usually crave cigarettes, and how much you pay per pack.

Track Your Cravings

If you use the "Help at a Specific Time" feature, the app will prompt you to record what time of day you want help dealing with cravings. It then sends you a tip at that exact time. You can write your own tip or have the app send you one of its own. You can do the same thing with specific locations.

Get Back on Track

The app lets you record times you may have slipped up and smoked a cigarette. It has you specify the emotional trigger such as "feeling stressed" or "finishing a meal."

Then, it gives some encouragement that you can use to move past the setback. You can pick a new quit date or continue with your current quit journey.

Be Inspired

The QuitGuide app also allows you to upload photos for inspiration, record tips that are helpful to you, and log personal challenges in your "Quit Kit."

Games on the app are there to provide a distraction. So the next time you are craving a cigarette, you may just find the perfect distraction on the QuitGuide app to move past your urge to smoke.

quitSTART

quitSTART also by ICF International begins by asking you some questions about your smoking habits, what is motivating you to quit, and how you'll celebrate when you have successfully quit smoking. At the top of the app, a timer tracks the time since you've joined the app.

Get Emotional Support

The main page of the app has an "I'm feeling down" button that brings you to a resource page. There are healthy lifestyle tips and motivational quotes. If you choose to go find your own motivational quotes, you'll be rewarded with a "Challenge Accepted Badge."

Read FYIs and Tips

In the "Explore" section of the app, you're presented with "FYIs." Some of them give healthy diet tips so you can snack and feel satisfied, which can help keep away cigarette cravings.

One tip prompts you to talk to a friend or family member you can trust when you're feeling down. Another tip encourages you to do some laundry and get the smell of smoke out of your clothes to start fresh on your quit day.

Quit Vaping

There are many different methods of using nicotine. One that has gained popularity in recent years is smoking e-cigarettes, or vaping. Quit Vaping by Jonathan Kopp is an app that is designed to help.

Vaping is harmful and is linked to many of the same risks as smoking cigarettes, including nicotine addiction, damage to the heart and to the lungs, and health risks during pregnancy.

Kids and teens are especially at risk of the harms of vaping due to their developing brains. The toxins in vapes may be more harmful to young people due to their smaller body size as well. Kids who vape may be more likely to go on to smoke cigarettes as adults.

Remember Your Reason for Quitting

The Quit Vaping app starts off by asking you your reason for quitting. Once you get through the initial questionnaire, the reason you gave is displayed in the middle of the homepage under the heading, "Remember why you quit."

One study found that participants who had strong intentions for quitting smoking tended to quit for longer durations. So, being reminded of the reason why you quit can help keep you motivated to follow through.

Join the Community

Quit Vaping has a "Community" section of the app where people can post their own entries. Everyone has a different story. Some people post celebrations when they've been able to abstain from vaping. Others may have relapsed and are looking for motivation to get back on track.

Buddy System

Quit Vaping also has a unique feature called the "Buddy System." If you and a friend are on a quit journey together, you can add each other as buddies on the app. This allows you to track each other's progress and support one another as you both take steps to live vape-free.