Internet tool to quit smoking

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LONDON, June 2 (UPI) -- An online program developed from the results of research findings, can help people quit smoking, British researchers said.

Robert West and Susan Michie of the University College London said StopAdvisor offers expert advice through a combination of interactive menus and personalized sessions, and encourages users to report important information the program will use to help them overcome difficulties they encounter as they try to quit.

StopAdvisor is the result of the analysis and synthesis of 19 theoretical principles, 33 evidence- or theory-based behavior change techniques, 26 Web-design principles and nine principles from user-testing, the researchers said.

"It is designed to be attractive and effective across social groups," the researchers said in a statement. "In order to make StopAdvisor relevant to all social groups, user-testing was conducted among less educated smokers in lower paid jobs, a group notoriously difficult to reach and engage."

The findings were published online in Translational Behavioral Medicine: Practice, Policy, Research.

The article is open to the general public at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13142-012-0135-6.