Ex Smoker App Helps Mobile Users Quit Smoking

Sofia, Bulgaria, April 19, 2015 --(PR.com)-- Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death worldwide and data says that up to 6 million lives could be saved each year if smokers get help to quit their habit. One simple mobile application has taken the first brave steps towards the bigger goal – Ex Smoker, aims to help mobile users who want to quit smoking.

The Problem
There are more than 1 billion smokers worldwide and nearly 6 million people die each year, WHO data shows. According to recent surveys, more than ⅔ of current smokers want to completely stop smoking, but barely 5% succeed. And to many of the successful quitters finding the right support (friends, relatives, support groups, etc.) has been crucial.

The Solution
The leading Bulgarian pharmaceutical company Sopharma Ltd. has created a mobile application that works as a personal digital companion for quitters.

The application has been launched in the beginning of March and is available for both iOS and Android devices. Users receive daily tips on health and mental habits to cope with the stress of quitting and global statistics show the total impact of the app on ex-smokers worldwide. The application collects personal stats and achievements of the quitters – days not smoking, money saved, lifetime extended, tar in lungs avoided, etc.

Ex Smoker can be used separately or during a smoking cessation therapy with Tabex®, recently announced by the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine to be ‘cost-effective front-line treatment for tobacco dependency with a superior efficacy than nicotine-replacement therapy’. The Tabex® Companion part of the app helps those who choose to use Tabex® as a smoking cessation aid to schedule their intake and to set daily reminders.

“We know how hard is to quit smoking so we have included a strong social element in Ex Smoker. One of the main goals of the application is to create a community of quitters and ex-smokers who will support one another while fighting the bad habit,” said Tanya Konstantinova, Digital Project Manager at Sopharma. Users could follow their progress and share their achievements with other peers on their own social media profiles.

The Data
Since its launch in early March, the app has been installed by near 1000 users on iOS and Android devices. About 80% of the installs are in Bulgaria and Russia, and since the app is only available in English and Bulgarian languages so far, Sopharma are already working on additional translations.

According to global stats of the application, for the first month Ex Smoker users have saved nearly 280 million EUR in total by not smoking more than 125 000 cigarettes. They have extended their lives by total of 1,5 million minutes which is approximately 1000 days.

"The facts from the data show where there is a correlation between which markets Sopharma is present and strong in, combined with where there are a lot of smokers (Bulgaria, Russia & Poland)," says Mark Rogers of FuturistLabs, the developer of Ex Smoker.

The Attitude
Ex Smoker is the second application in the mobile environment of Sopharma. More than a year ago the company launched its first health application Zdravi App (‘Zdravi’ in Bulgarian means ‘Healthy’) that now has more than 13000 downloads on App Store and Google Play.

"We think of ourselves as a ‘digitally responsible company’ and this has been one of the main lines in our communications strategy for the last few years," said Elena Krasteva, Corporate Communications Manager at Sopharma. She added, "Since the launch of Zdravi in the early 2014 we have been dedicated to spreading the idea of healthy living through all of our digital channels, and the Ex Smoker application is the next headliner in our long-term policy in this direction."

So far there has been no advertisement for the app outside of Bulgaria so the large quantity of international users shows that consumers are looking for solutions like this and the topic of quitting smoking is very relevant among mobile users across the globe.