Seattle, Washington – Last week, 2Morrow Inc. announced the launch of SmartQuit, the first app proven effective in helping smokers quit. The Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT-based program, was created at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and is different from other smoking cessation programs in both approach and delivery. Last year, 2Morrow collaborated with Fred Hutch to create SmartQuit for the first ever randomized controlled trial of an app for quitting smoking. The study found that users of SmartQuit were 2.5 – 3 times more likely to quit than those who try to quit on their own. After seeing the results, 2Morrow obtained an exclusive license to technology from Fred Hutch with the goal of getting the program into the hands of millions of smokers who want to quit.

“This is a big deal,” explains Brandon Masterson, CEO of 2Morrow. “mHealth (mobile health) has a challenge because the technology has outpaced the research. With SmartQuit we were able to prove the efficacy as well as discover what really works. Collaborating with scientists like Dr. Jonathan Bricker, a psychologist and smoking-cessation researcher from The Hutch, has forced us to up our game, and we couldn’t be happier. Now it is our job to get this program from the lab to the public.”

With SmartQuit, 2Morrow offers an ACT-based approach to quitting that is proven to be more effective than other approaches.* SmartQuit is delivered completely over a smartphone, which is attractive to four out of five smokers who say they prefer the privacy and convenience of an app-based program over telephone or in person coaching. Participants can also earn a Certificate of Completion that may save them money on healthcare premiums with some employers. Currently less than 5% of smokers use evidence-based programs. The potential to reach more smokers with a mobile app is appealing to state programs, heath plans and employers.

“We are always seeking innovative consumer tools that help people live healthier lives,” said David Young, Vivacity CEO and Vice President & General Manager of Wellness and Consumerism at Premera Blue Cross. “With SmartQuit, 2Morrow is using mobile technology to put evidence-based programs directly into the hands of smokers who are trying to quit. The best part is that it has been clinically tested and proven effective, which is rare in mHealth tools today.”

Funding of SmartQuit comes in part from a $250K Washington State Life Sciences Discovery Fund (LSDF) Grant received by 2Morrow last May. The grant helped fund the evidence-based improvements, back-end reporting website and security infrastructure needed for real-world distribution. The grant also funds a study to evaluate the updated program in a real-world setting when distributed though select Washington employers including Premera Blue Cross who plans to run a pilot in Jan 2015.

The SmartQuit program will be offered through employers, health plans and states, but can also be downloaded by individuals from the iTunes and Android App Stores. There is a light version available for free, and the full program will retail for $49.99. For groups, real-time aggregate engagement data and/or program completion data will be available. This is useful if an employer wants to offer incentives (like lower premiums) tied to completion of an evidence-based program. To assure privacy, the program has been designed so that users do not need to enter their name or contact info into the app.

SmartQuit is a mobile version of Dr. Bricker’s ACT-based smoking cessation program, which has received over $10M in National Institutes of Health funding for clinical trials. The SmartQuit study results were recently published in the Journal of Drug and Alcohol Dependence. This study followed 200 smokers and found that SmartQuit users were 60 percent more likely to quit than those using the control app from smokefree.gov. This equates to being two and a half to three times more effective than trying to quit on one’s own or about the same effectiveness as standard nicotine replacement therapy, texting programs or telephone coaching efficiency reported in previous published studies.

With SmartQuit, 2Morrow has collaborated with an internationally renowned cancer research institute to address nicotine addiction. Our mobile smoking cessation program is the only smartphone-based program proven effective in a randomized control trial. SmartQuit offers expanded reach, comparable efficacy and a much lower cost per quit compared to more costly traditional coaching programs. In 2012 2Morrow won the U.S. Surgeon General’s Healthy App Challenge for their Healthy Habits app used by wellness programs or community organizations.

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2Morrow is a Seattle-area mHealth company focused on helping millions of people improve their lives with the use of evidence-based, behavioral change programs that they can access on their smartphones. 2Morrow’s mission is to help millions improve their lives with the use of evidence-based, behavioral change programs. We do this by creating and distributing leading-edge programs based on the work of respected researchers and thought leaders. 2Morrow delivers these programs directly into the hands of people, whenever and wherever they need them via their smartphone. All Material and Software (C) Copyright 2014 2Morrow Inc. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, iPod and iPad are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other trademarks and registered trademarks may be the property of their respective owners.