Battling Smoking Habit 'Round the Clock, November 4, 2002, Omaha World-Herald

For smokers who think it's time to kick the habit, a Chicago doctor and an engineer have devised what they see as the ideal tool - a watch.

The Quitting Time Watch provides behavior monitoring and positive electronic messages for smokers trying to kick the habit

By providing motivational messages, the Quitting Time Watch is designed as a constant counselor to help smokers get through withdrawal.

The watch, which works much like a sportswatch, costs $139.95 and has been on the market a month. Co-inventor Dan Mapes-Riordan is hoping it quickly will become a staple of stop-smoking programs.

"It's like having your own personal quitting coach," said Mapes-Riordan, who designed the watch with Dr. Neil Perlman.

Wrist support

A sampling of the 400 messages displayed by the Quitting Time Watch:

You are strong!
You are in control!
You did it - keep going!
Smoking one pack a day is $1,500 up in smoke in one year.
Your heart thanks you for quitting.
Your breath is fresher.

More information about the watch can be found at www.watchfactory.com or www.electromedtechnologies.com or by calling (312) 458-9769.

The watch is intended to be coupled with nicotine patches and gum by tracking how often those products are used.

It also monitors how many cigarettes a smoker has daily and how long it has been since the last one.

The watch stores about 400 positive-reinforcement messages, including "You are strong" and "You are in control." It even tracks the amount of money the smoker is saving by not lighting up.

Mapes-Riordan said the watch is based on years of evidence showing the important role positive reinforcement plays in helping smokers quit.

"Messages from a doctor, even an e-mail, increase cessation rates significantly," said Mapes-Riordan, a former NASA engineer. The inventors haven't yet tested the watch to see if it helps smokers quit. They said they based the product entirely on psychological research. Mapes-Riordan said hundreds of watches have been shipped to Chicago and East Coast retailers. He hopes to see the watches in health and fitness stores nationwide.

Dr. Rob Kramer of Tobacco Free Nebraska said the watch could help people track their progress in much the same way doctors encourage patients to do. Kramer hasn't seen the watch, but said it could play a critical role in helping smokers quit. "We do know that nicotine-replacement therapy is not effective unless it's used in conjunction with counseling," Kramer said. "This could be a very helpful tool."