Quitting on the QT: A Day in the Life

or "Pete Quits On The QT"

We thought it would be helpful if we walked you through what a day would be like using your QT-Watch.

This journal is an example. When PETE, our fictional smoker, started wearing the QT-Watch he had a 1-1/2 pack habit (30 cigarettes/day). He is currently on Day #15 of a 30-day quit schedule. His doctor recommended he try the Patch and PETE felt that monitoring his quitting would help him stay on track. He asked his doctor about the QT-Watch and his doctor agreed it was a good idea.

Pete is 38 years old and has been smoking since he was 16. This is his fourth time trying to quit.

Note: Since the QT-Watch uses your personal profile to monitor your success, your quitting information and messages will likely vary from "Pete’s."

Good morning, Pete!

6:45:00 am

Time to wake up. Pete showers and gets ready for his day. He puts on his QT-Watch. He looks at the watch and sees…

He presses the info button and receives a short message: STOP BURNING MONEY – QUIT SMOKING.

After the short message, He presses and holds the (i) button to see what his goal is for today.

Pete sees the following screens, in this order:

[GOAL: 15 COUNT: 0]
[LAST CIG: 9-20, 10:15 PM]
[SMOKE FREE FOR…]
[8 HOURS 30 MINUTES]
[QUITTING SCORE: 91] His highest score yet!
[SAVED $27.00]
[DON’T SMOKE.]

Well done! He is halfway there. He feels better and he has saved some money. He is going to do this! He can feel it.

7:15:32 am

With his coffee, Pete has his first cigarette of the day.

He presses the "(c)- cigarette" button prior to lighting up.

He sees the following message

[GOAL: 15 COUNT: 1]

The cigarette animation becomes a cigarette with no X.

This indicates that Pete is currently smoking.

7:22:25 am

Pete looks at his pack of cigarettes, remembering that he used to have two or three cigarettes with his morning coffee. He looks at his QT-Watch to see if he is "allowed" to have another cigarette.

The cigarette animation is a partial cigarette with a blinking X. He knows that if he really wants to become a non-smoker, he must not smoke while the X is blinking.

Note: The QT-Watch is not designed to tell you when you can smoke. The blinking X is designed to defeat chain smoking and increase the time between cigarettes.

He presses the (i) button instead for a quick message.

It reads: MILLIONS OF SMOKERS QUIT EACH YEAR – JOIN THE CLUB

Instead of having another cigarette, he grabs a stick of gum and begins to collect his things for work.

7:30:00 am

The QT-Watch’s alarm goes off. Pete looks at the screen.

The screen reads: PUT YOUR PATCH ON

Pete applies his patch.

‘This is working,’ he thinks. ‘In two more weeks, I will be able to throw my cigarette lighter in the trash.’

Note: The QT-Watch can also be set to remind you to take medications up to twice each day.

12:12:19 pm

It’s time for lunch. Pete has had a few more cigarettes today, but not nearly as many as he used to. He looks at his QT-Watch. The message now reads: BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. Two weeks ago, he would have laughed at this message, but now Pete decides to wait another few minutes before having the next cigarette.

Instead, he presses and holds the (i) button to see how well he did so far this morning.

[GOAL: 15 COUNT: 4] Only four cigarettes before lunch? That’s a record low! He feels positive and decides he is going to smoke fewer than the allotted 15 today. Maybe even only 12.
[LAST CIG: 9-21, 11:17 AM]
[SMOKE FREE FOR…]
[55 MINUTES] Almost an hour. ‘I’ll have my next one in five minutes,’ Pete decides.
[QUITTING SCORE: 91]
[SAVED $28.10]
[DON’T SMOKE.]

12:16:53 pm

Almost five minutes later, he has his fifth cigarette of the day. ‘Those were a long four minutes and it feels good to be smoking’ Pete thinks. ‘Maybe this won’t be so easy.’

He presses the "(c)- cigarette" button prior to lighting up.

He sees the following message

[GOAL: 15 COUNT: 5]

The message that follows reads: YOU ARE STRONG ENOUGH TO QUIT.

He chuckles to himself. ‘Funny how the watch seems to know what I am feeling,’ he thinks.

12:18:21 pm

An associate asks Pete for the time. Pete tilts his wrist towards her so she can read his watch.

"Thanks," she says. She has no idea that the watch Pete is wearing is anything other than a standard sports watch.

"Does that watch have a timer?" she asks.

"And a chronograph," Pete responds.

"Nice," she says and goes on her way.

A few seconds later, he glances at his QT-Watch. The message reads: PETE, GOOD JOB. He agrees. At times it’s been tough, but he has never been this close to quitting before and he feels fairly strongly that he can do it this time. ‘Fifth time’s the charm,’ he thinks.

2:24:34 pm

It has been two hours and six minutes since Pete’s last cigarette. How does he know? He checked the QT-Watch. Two weeks ago, he could barely last an hour. He’s not a non-smoker yet, but he’s come a long way.

He lights a cigarette and presses the "(c)- cigarette" button. He watches the message: YOU HAVE THE POWER TO QUIT SMOKING. He wonders how many different messages there are.

2:26:34 pm – Pete is startled by the QT-Watch’s alarm. It beeps 5 times. He looks at the watch and sees that the message says: PUT OUT CIGARETTE. The User Manual said this would happen, even if the user were doing well.

‘OK,’ he thinks. ‘I’ll play along.’ He puts out the cigarette. It is only half done.

He presses and holds the (i) button to see his current count.

[GOAL: 15 COUNT: 6] But it has really only been 5-1/2.

It’s well after noon and he’s only had five and a half cigarettes this day. Even with the patch, he feels as though he is stronger than nicotine for the first time in many, many years.

8:17:21 pm

Pete is sitting on the sofa watching television. He reaches over to his pack of cigarettes to light one up, but first glances at his QT-Watch. It’s dark in the living room, so he presses the light button. The QT-Watch illuminates nicely.

Pete sees that the ‘X’ on the cigarette animation is blinking, which he knows means DON’T SMOKE.

When did he last have a cigarette? ‘Surely it must have been at least a half hour since I smoked one,’ he thinks. But he doesn’t have to guess or keep track. That’s what the QT-Watch is for.

Pete presses and holds the (i) button and learns that he had his last cigarette only 11 minutes ago.

‘Now I know how I smoked so many cigarettes,’ he thinks. ‘I never really paid this much attention before and just kept lighting up and lighting up.’

Pete looks at the QT-Watch and it asks: WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH THE EXTRA LUNG POWER? ‘Probably spend more time outside,’ he thinks. And then decides that’s a good idea. He turns off the television, grabs a can of cola, and goes out into the backyard for few minutes. It’s a warm fall night. He takes a deep breath of fresh air. ‘Does it smell better out here now that I’ve cut my habit in half’ he wonders, ‘or is it just my imagination?’

10:11:41 pm

Pete is getting ready for bed. Before he places his QT-Watch on the night table he presses and holds the (i) button to see how well he did that day.

[GOAL: 15 COUNT: 13] ‘But it was really 12 and a half,’ he thinks, remembering that cigarette he put out early. From 30 to 12-1/2 in just two weeks. Pete feels proud of his achievements. But he knows there is still work to do.
[LAST CIG: 9-21, 10:01 PM]
[SMOKE FREE FOR…]
[10 MINUTES] ‘Not very impressive,’ Pete thinks, ‘but that cigarette has to last for the next eight hours.’
[QUITTING SCORE: 91]
[SAVED $28.10]
[DON’T SMOKE.]

Pete washes his face, brushes his teeth and climbs into bed.

Lying in bed, Pete mentally prepares himself for the next day. He thinks about what he needs to accomplish at work and the personal errands he has to run.

He also thinks about his smoking habit. ‘Another day down. Only fourteen more to go. Two weeks from tonight,’ he says to himself, ‘I’ll be lying in bed without having had a cigarette all day.’

Until just a few days ago, Pete never believed he would be able to quit, but now he does. A habit he has had for nearly twenty years is about to be broken. Pete feels now that he is stronger than his nicotine habit. It’s a good feeling.

Pete’s last thought before drifting off to sleep is this: At $4.80 a pack, he used to spend over $50 a week on cigarettes. That’s over $2,500 every year. He has already cut that in half and when he breaks this habit, he’ll save enough for a week’s vacation somewhere really nice. Perhaps Cancun.

Pete can almost smell the salt water as he falls asleep.