Stop smoking (or never start) thanks to… a smartphone app! This is what researchers from the Cancéropôle Lyon Auvergne Rhône-Alpes are proposing. Together with the Dowino design studio, they launched Smokitten, a fun app to end smoking for good.
After the patches, chewing gum or even hypnosis, it’s time to stop smoking apps! While France still has 12.2 million smokers, the Cancéropôle Lyon Auvergne Rhône-Alpes has decided to innovate and focus on new technologies to wean us off tobacco. For the occasion, he joined forces with the Lyon-based creation studio Dowino, which designed Smokitten, the first community smartphone video game featuring an adorable kitten addicted to cigarettes.
Compensate for your desire to smoke by playing
The principle of Smokitten is as simple as it is effective: for 222 days, the player must accompany his new companion in his fight to quit smoking. The goal? Entertain him with mini-games to dissuade him from burning one … On the program, yoga, boxing or running lessons, but also intense sessions where it is a question of calming the kitten of his fits. anxiety or outbursts of anger. As you unlock the levels, the little cat’s desire to smoke takes off and her health improves.
Quite a metaphor, therefore, to distract the player from his own craving for nicotine … and encourage him to take more care of his health. This is what researchers call the “principle of compensation”. Rather than thinking about their next cigarette, the player helps the kitten to wean itself and also receives encouragement from the game community. “The video game allows the player to identify with their avatar while creating the distancing necessary for the control of his immediate emotions “, explains to the Parisian Professor Franck Chauvin, President of the High Council for Public Health. “The idea is to take out your phone instead of taking out your pack of cigarettes when you want to smoke, we will spend these 4 to 5 minutes playing instead of spending them smoking”, adds to Radio Scoop Pierre-Alain Gagne, co-founder of Dowino.
A tight-knit community
And if there is a drop in morale or motivation, it is always possible to receive support and advice from the Smokitten community, always ready to join hands on the long road to smoking cessation. “If we created Dowino, it is because we believe that video games can change the world and have a real social impact. Today, we want to tackle the problem of smoking, which is the leading cause preventable cancer “, explains to Current wife Pierre-Alain Gagne.
Smokitten is now available on the Google Play Store (€ 4.99) and Apple Store (€ 5.99) download platforms.
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