A team of developers have developed a new app in order to help smokers quit the nasty habit with the help of technology.

The new app, which will include elements of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), was developed by a group of medical students. The "stop smoking" game for smartphones will be the first such programme to provide personalised behavioural support to peopleready to quit tobacco.

The developers said that it will include the ‘talking treatment’ that will allow people to change the way they think and behave and also motivate them to quit the habit. The app has game-like features for reaching personal targets and tracking progress. The app will also include videos by an animated personal doctor. Data showed that the NHS only provides behavioural support to just 9 per cent of the smokers in the UK, who are aiming to quit and this shows that a lot more can be done to discourage smoking.

Yusuf Sherwani, a medical student at Imperial College London, said, “As medical students, almost every day we see patients who are suffering from the consequences of smoking cigarettes; many of whom want to quit but lack the necessary support.We really hope this app takes off and transforms the support available to them. We believe it could be a game-changer.”Sherwani led the project to develop the app.

Details of the project were presented at the British Thoracic Society Winter Meeting in London.