There are plenty of trackers to promote healthy habits, but how about a device that discourages a not so healthy one? Quitbit is a smart lighter designed to help rein in smoking addiction by keeping tabs on how often you light up.
To help smokers adhere to daily targets, Quitbit features a small display with a counter that ticks over every time they light up. The display will also detail the time elapsed since the last cigarette, perhaps encouraging users to hold out that little while longer.
The essence of the Quitbit method is motivating smokers to give away the habit through the monitoring of incremental change. With Bluetooth 4.0 built-in, the lighter collects smoking data and sends it to the companion Android or iOS smartphone app. Within the app, users are able to customize Quitbit to tackle the challenge of quitting in a way that works for them.
This might involve setting milestones, daily cigarette limits, monitoring how much money they are spending or how much they have saved. A bolder approach might be observing what time of day they are smoking most and then setting the lighter to disable when they're at their most vulnerable.
The company says to avoid misleading data, it has configured the Quitbit to disregard lighting events that occur within minutes of each other, meaning that sharing the lighter with your unprepared friends shouldn't tip you over your daily limit. Failing this, the data can always be adjusted in the app later on.
Users can share progress with other users through the online Quitbit community or over Twitter and Facebook as a means of positive reinforcement. The lighter measures 67 x 43 x 10 mm (2.6 x 1.6 x 0.4 in) and weighs 72 g (2.5 oz). It uses a heating element much like the one found in car cigarette lighters and runs on a rechargeable lithium-polymer battery. The company claims each charge should be good for around a week of use.
Quitbit resembles the Smokio Smart e-cigarette that we looked at last year, which similarly tracks smoking habits and sends data to a smartphone app. However, Quitbit brings similar tracking capabilities to those who puff genuine tobacco.
Quitbit is currently the subject of of a Kickstarter campaign where a pledge of US$79 will put you in line for one of your own. The company aims to begin shipping in December if all goes to plan.
You can view the team's pitch video below.
Source: Quitbit
