Digital app helps patients quit smoking
Posted: - 5th June 2026
Tobacco remains the leading preventable cause of ill health, disability, and premature death in England, claiming around 64,000 lives each year. The independent Khan review in 2022 warned that without decisive action, smoking will cause almost half a million additional deaths by 2030.
The North East and Yorkshire Tobacco Prevention project is a digitally enabled tobacco dependence treatment initiative delivered across secondary care settings in collaboration with NHS partners. The project was established to enhance existing inpatient tobacco dependence treatment by introducing the Smoke Free app as a structured digital intervention, supporting patients who wish to quit smoking during hospitalisation and continue their quit journey following discharge.
Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber, working alongside Health Innovation North East and North Cumbria, NHS England North East and Yorkshire, and participating ICBs and trusts, has supported the coordinated rollout and evaluation of the smoking cessation intervention.
Following implementation, the Smoke Free App has been made available across 13 NHS trusts, with more than 700 patients accessing the Smoke Free App to support their quit attempts (based on data collected between April 2025 and May 2026). A longitudinal evaluation approach has been established to track engagement, quit attempts, and outcomes over time, enabling assessment of both effectiveness and sustainability. Originally commissioned from April 2025 to 31 March 2026, the pilot was extended until June 2026 to maximise patient benefit and enable wider access to the Smoke Free App.
Introducing a digital approach to smoking cessation
The Smoke Free App was selected following a review of available digital innovations due to its strong evidence base, ease of implementation and existing use within some NHS services. The aim was to offer people identified as smokers during hospital care an additional, accessible option alongside traditional community-based stop smoking support.
The app provides 24/7 access to smoking cessation support, including:
- a structured 90-day quit programme;
- support from accredited stop smoking advisors;
- access to nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and medically approved vapes;
- an AI quit coach, craving management tools and progress tracking;
- a peer support community.
The pilot initially focused on hospital inpatients but was later expanded to include outpatient settings, NHS staff and visitors to increase access and reach.
Project alignment
The project supports the ambitions of the NHS 10 Year Health Plan, including the shift from analogue to digital, hospital to community, and sickness to prevention. Most importantly, it gives patients practical support to quit smoking when and where they need it, helping them continue their quit attempt after leaving hospital.
For many people, stopping smoking can be difficult, particularly after returning home following a hospital stay. The Smoke Free App gives patients ongoing, personalised support beyond the hospital setting, without relying on them attending face-to-face appointments. This provides a more flexible way for patients to stay engaged with their quit attempt and may help reach people who are less likely to use traditional community smoking cessation services.
Helping people stop smoking is one of the most effective ways to prevent future ill health. By offering support at a time when patients may be particularly motivated to make a change, the project creates an opportunity to help people quit and reduce their risk of smoking-related disease. Making this support more accessible is also important in addressing health inequalities, particularly among communities where smoking rates are higher. It supports the government’s commitment to expand stop smoking support and create a smoke-free generation.
Impact
We developed an evaluation focusing on exploring the effectiveness of the app, and its implementation success within secondary care. The evaluation found that 79% of people engaged with the app after downloading it. Of those, the quit rate was found to be 50.8% (based on data collected between July 2025 and February 2026). This meets the threshold suggested within the Russell Standard Clinical.
The evaluation also assessed the value for money of the Smoke Free App by comparing the costs of delivering the programme with the potential long-term benefits of helping people quit smoking, including reductions in smoking-related diseases such as lung cancer, coronary heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and stroke. The analysis estimated that every £1 invested generated £7.35 in benefits.
What we did
Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber played a key role in bringing partners together, supporting implementation and designing the evaluation approach to understand the effectiveness and sustainability of the intervention.
Working with Health Innovation North East and North Cumbria, NHS England North East and Yorkshire, ICBs’ tobacco leads and participating trusts, we supported a coordinated regional approach across four ICB areas.
Our contribution included:
- conducting a horizon scan of potential digital smoking cessation solutions to support selection of the Smoke Free App
- establishing governance arrangements through a regional steering group
- supporting NHS trusts with implementation planning and onboarding
- developing the evaluation framework and data collection approach
- analysing quantitative and qualitative data to understand impact, user experience and implementation barriers.
A monthly steering group brought together key partners to review progress, share learning and address challenges collaboratively. This enabled adaptations to be made during delivery, including expanding access beyond inpatients to include additional groups such as staff, visitors and outpatient settings.
The evaluation was designed to assess both the impact of the intervention and how it was experienced in practice. It assessed quit rates at defined follow-up points (around six weeks), alongside qualitative feedback from patients and Tobacco Dependency Advisors to understand user experience and implementation barriers. Additional measures explored how the intervention supports continuity of care and reduces loss to follow-up compared with existing pathways. At a system level, the evaluation also considered whether the evidence generated was sufficient to support wider adoption and scaling across geographies.
The evaluation found no significant differences in engagement or quit outcomes across gender, age, sexual orientation or deprivation level, suggesting that the app can support a diverse range of people. The strongest predictor of success was the amount of time people spent using the app, with greater engagement linked to an increased likelihood of quitting.
Positive experiences from users and staff
Feedback from users was overwhelmingly positive. Of those completing the evaluation survey, 87% said they would recommend the app to others. Users valued the convenience of having ongoing support available digitally and reported that access to vapes and NRT helped them during their quit attempt.
The evaluation also highlighted important learning about implementation. Staff reported that the app was well received but identified practical challenges, including supporting people with lower digital confidence, hospital Wi-Fi issues, and the need to revisit patients who were unavailable when first approached.
The pilot demonstrated the importance of:
- providing clear guidance to staff on offering the app universally alongside existing stop smoking services;
- regular monitoring of uptake and sharing learning between sites;
- identifying local champions to support implementation;
- adapting approaches for different settings, particularly mental health services where additional considerations may be required.
Looking ahead
The evaluation shows that a digital smoking cessation intervention can be successfully introduced in secondary care, engaging people who may not otherwise access traditional stop smoking services. The Smoke Free App provides an effective, scalable approach to extending support beyond hospital walls and helping more people achieve a smoke-free future.
Patient testimonial
The app enables users to track smoke-free days, money saved and improvements to their health in real time, helping to maintain motivation. Unlike many digital health tools, Smokefree goes beyond self-help by offering 24/7 access to trained advisors who can provide guidance and encouragement throughout a patient’s quit journey.
Carlos, a patient at the Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust who stopped smoking with the support of the app, said:
“I’d smoked for over ten years, and although I’d tried to quit before, it had never worked.
“What really prompted the change was a hospital admission for another health issue. While I was there, they encouraged me to stop smoking and asked if I wanted to speak to the stop smoking advisor. I agreed to have a chat.
“She gave me some information, including details about the Smokefree app, and I remember thinking it felt different from what I’d tried in the past. It felt new.”
“Having support available at any time was important for me. Anxiety doesn’t work to a schedule, and things can come up at any point in the day. Knowing the app was there, no matter what else was going on in my life, made it easier to keep going.”