Or that’s what Internet startups and Denver, CO is betting. According to Jodi Kopke, a media director at Colorado’s State Tobacco Education and Prevention Partnership (STEPP), acting immediately is key to helping people stop smoking. Very true, but I don’t think her plan is going to help many people. Using SMS, the stop-smoking service will send out daily text messages to smokers who sign up with motivational tips. Mind you this was originally developed with high schoolers in mind.
Other websites prey on your friends and family, begging them to sign up for similar services and send you messages encouraging you to kick the habit. Though the idea is there, I don’t see web services helping people quit. Get the patch, get friends, just get something.