Table 2 Patient anecdotes reported to GP (J Marston) following initial logging phase. These were in response to specific questions about patient motivation, experience with the app and suggestions for improvement

Patient A

Wanted help to quit—failed quit attempts in past

Liked the app as it is. Did not find it difficult to use. Most useful feature was that when a craving was felt, the process of logging diverted her attention and often the craving would subside.

Nothing

Yes. Concerned that when NRT was finished cravings might become a problem. Would definitely consider logging again to maintain quit.

Patient B

Sounded interesting. Multiple failed attempts—allergic to Nicotine patches and ‘did not want to put more chemicals in my body’

Liked the current features and look of the app. Particularly liked that ‘logging’ made you stop and think about having a cigarette rather than smoking being an automatic habit. Logging often delayed having a cigarette

Missed not being able to review previous comments. Thought it would be nice to anonymously look at what other people were saying. Felt that you could gain a lot of support from other quitters. Could there be some sort of anonymised chat room? Could this be part of the app?

Yes—useful for both quitting and maintaining quit. Would like to help with Phase 2.

Patient C

Mixture of wanting to quit and to help medical developments

Quite easy to use—particularly liked watching improvements in life expectancy as he reduced smoking.

Would like to have had more depth to the app—was not able to specify, but thought it was over simplistic.

Yes, but need to be motivated. ‘You get out what you put in’