FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                           

For more information, contact:

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Sheila Champlin – (901) 448-4957, schampli@uthsc.edu or

Dena Owens – (901) 448-4072, dowens10@uthsc.edu

 

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Department of Preventive Medicine

Releases New iPhone App to Help Smokers Quit   
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Memphis, Tenn. (July 25, 2011) – The Department of Preventive Medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) has released a new iPhone App to help smokers break the smoking habit permanently.   The Quit Forever App, developed by UTHSC smoking-cessation experts, is a complete program based on years of research.  The app offers easy step-by-step instructions and proven strategies that help smokers stop smoking and stay tobacco free for life.  The app explains factors such as how to:

·        deal with tension,

·        take FDA approved smoking cessation medicines,

·        move beyond triggers that lead to smoking, and

·        connect with support services like telephone-quit lines and on-line help.

 

“The app is our way of translating what we know works to promote health into social media and technology trends of today,” said Karen C. Johnson, MD, MPH, professor and interim chair of the UTHSC Department of Preventive Medicine.  “We can reach a broad population using the app, and the easy-to-follow steps are time-savers for busy people who really want to permanently quit smoking.” 

Using the app along with FDA-approved smoking-cessation medicine makes it easier for anyone to quit smoking, not just temporarily, but forever.  The “My Health” section of the app provides important information about the health benefits of quitting and the health effects of cigarette smoke, including the effects of second-hand smoke.  When preparing to quit, the app section titled, “My 5 A Plan,” explains how to survive the first days as a nonsmoker using the words: avoid, alter, alternate, anticipate and activate.  The “My 5 A Plan” is just one of the easily remembered strategies to help smokers fight various smoking triggers and stay tobacco-free.

The iPhone Quit Smoking App is available through the iTunes store, http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/quit-forever/id438607134?mt=8, and it can also be accessed through Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Quit-Smoking-Forever-iPhone-App/135198179887020?sk=wall&filter=2. 

As the flagship statewide academic health system, the mission of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center is to bring the benefits of the health sciences to the achievement and maintenance of human health, with a focus on the citizens of Tennessee and the region, by pursuing an integrated program of education, research, clinical care, and public service.  In 2011, UT Health Science Center celebrates its centennial: 100 years advancing the future of health care.  Offering a broad range of postgraduate training opportunities, the main UTHSC campus is located in Memphis and includes six colleges: Allied Health Sciences, Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy.  The UTHSC campus in Knoxville includes a College of Medicine, College of Pharmacy, and an Allied Health Sciences unit.  In addition, the UTHSC Chattanooga campus includes a College of Medicine and an Allied Health Sciences unit.  Since its founding in 1911, UTHSC has educated and trained more than 53,000 health care professionals on campuses and in health care facilities across the state.  For more information, visit www.uthsc.edu.

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