Smokers may find redemption on cell phones

By Michele Gershberg

NEW YORK (Reuters) - For millions of smokers itching to quit, new Web-based technologies are promising to stand by you like a close friend through those dark days of stress and withdrawal.

Internet sites and discussion forums dedicated to kicking the nicotine habit have been around for more than a decade.

Now they are following smokers to their cell phones, social networks and anywhere else to remind them that it's not worth lighting up.

"Immediacy is one of the most critical parts of the program," said Jodi Kopke, media director at Colorado's State Tobacco Education and Prevention Partnership (STEPP). "For someone to say they smoke at 7 a.m., 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. and then to get a message right as they are about to get up and light up, that is so powerful."

Colorado's STEPP and Denver-based ad agency Cactus developed a message system on cell phones with an Internet quit program. Initially aimed at high school students in Colorado, the state hopes to soon share its fledgling FixNixer program as a technique for all age groups and geographies.

QuitNet.com, one of the most established Web sites for quitting, is also considering more tailored messages to users of its site and a foray into mobile, while quit support groups are popping up on social networks MySpace and Facebook.

"That is the next wave, to really blend user-generated pieces of the Web site," said QuitNet vice president, Jim Purvis, referring to information provided by smokers who want to quit. QuitNet is owned by Healthways Inc (HWAY.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

QuitNet already tallies the amount of money a member saves each year by trashing the cigarettes, but could send more tailored messages based on a person's known pastimes.