This app knows when you’re smoking so that it can help you quit. It claims 100% accuracy

You reach into your pocket and fumble around till you find the pack of cancer sticks. There’s a reluctant pause. You know all that nicotine and tar engulfing your lungs will eventually kill you, but it’s a force of habit. Sparking that cigarette will give you the kick you so desperately crave – life seems so empty without it dangling between your fingers. You wish there was a way to break free from the cycle of addiction – if only someone proffered help.

But don’t feel so despondent. Take some solace in the fact you’re not alone. The World Health Organization estimates over a billion smokers across the world, but also notes that most who are aware of the dangers associated with smoking want to quit. All they need is counselling, help, and encouragement.

And that’s a view Tel Aviv-based Somatix hopes to foster and encourage. Its product, Smokebeat, is a data analytics platform that works with all commercial smartwatches and wristbands to identify, in real time, when users are smoking. Smokebeat’s algorithm recognizes movements to ascertain “hand-to-mouth” gestures, and can distinguish between eating, drinking, shaving, smoking, and other actions. Eran Ofir, CEO of Somatix, tells Tech in Asia the sensors are “100 percent accurate” as it can identify puffs and understand the average cigarette consists of 6 to 12 puffs.

“Doctors are given a remote monitoring tool and a dashboard where they can see the adherence and success of users in smoking cessation. We don’t determine the [smoking cessation] process, it is up to the doctor, but we are able to calculate its efficacy,” Eran says. The target market is large corporates, insurance companies, and healthcare organizations.

Smokebeat is free for the end user. Eran says its main objective is to assist with smoking cessation and make the world a healthier place.

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Smokebeat team

Personal journey

One of the factors that led to the development of Smokebeat was Eran’s personal exposure to nicotine. His father – a chain smoker – died from cancer at a young age, which affected Eran. “The most amazing thing is that, globally, smokers are growing. Five million people die every year because of it, and 7 trillion cigarettes are smoked every year. This is something that needs to be handled,” he says.

To encourage users to quit smoking, Eran says Smokebeat tries a number of different angles, including financial, social, emotional, and cognitive incentives. For example, when Smokebeat detects that a user is indulging in a cigarette, instant notifications are sent to a paired smartphone. These notifications will alert the user about the frequency of their habit, time between the last smoke, as well as daily/weekly/monthly cumulative history. The platform can also determine how much money users have spent buying cigarettes, and what social settings act as a trigger for them to spark up. “If you’re smoking with your friends, at a bar, while driving, or at home, we can determine [your habit] and help you,” he says.

But what if users simply take off the wearable that’s running the app and smoke with reckless abandon, comfortable in the knowledge that their actions will go undetected? Eran says the platform can detect if the wearable is idle, has been switched off, or is worn by a different person. “But we’re trying to help people, not spy on them,” he exhorts. “There are many, many people who are truly trying to stop smoking because they understand how dangerous it is for their health.”

Eran believes his product is likely to be successful because of new trends in the insurance industry, where they give financial incentives for people who meet “daily health targets.” For example, a company will provide wearables to existing policyholders and track whether they’ve met requirements pertaining to exercise and diet. For each day that they do, they’re given a cash rebate. And apparently it’s a trend fast catching on in the western world, where users are more health-conscious and don’t mind availing free discounts to live a healthier life.