iMorph, a company that integrates wearable self-help smart technology announced its flagship smoking cessation product, CigFree SmartBand, is being readied as a prototype for its clinical trial to demonstrate efficacy for quitting smoking. “CigFree SmartBand” is the first all-natural healthy non-invasive low-cost solution for quitting smoking, says a press release.

“The smoking cessation market in the US is reaching $7 billion annually. There are 38 million cigarette smokers in America. 40% will attempt to stop each year. 7% succeed of which, half relapse. Current solutions include: expensive drugs that block neuroreceptors to wean smokers off cigarettes; Ingesting nicotine as a replacement therapy that is costly and generally ongoing; and Vaping e-cigarettes to replace cigarette smoking, said Adrian Vargas, CEO, iMorph. “Reports show vaping is causing other health problems, and are a costly undertaking. Smoking is one of the biggest killers. Approximately $170 billion and $150 million is spent annually on related health problems and lost productivity respectively.”

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According to a 2017 report by CDC:

• Cigarette smoking damages nearly every organ of the body, causes many diseases, and reduces the health of smokers in general.
• In the United States, more than 480,000 people die due to cigarette smoking each year.
• More than 10 times as many Americans have died prematurely from cigarette smoking than have died in all the wars fought by the United States.
• Smoking causes about 90% of all lung cancer deaths. More women die from lung cancer each year than from breast cancer.
• Smoking causes about 80% of all deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
• Quitting smoking lowers your risk for smoking-related diseases and can add years to your life.

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iMorph COO Younis Zubchevich said they have configured CigFree prototype to detect the act of smoking in real time. “We’ve paired our smartBand with our Phone App, and enable smokers to record, in their own voice, a series of affirmations regarding personal health choices. When CigFree detects the act of smoking, it signals the App to notify smokers to listen to their prerecorded messages while smoking, ensuring CigFree's self-help solution is delivered exactly the time it is needed. Other solutions and Apps require full attention to implement. CigFree is seamless, automated for ease of use and never forgets to remind smokers. Affirmations have been successfully used by people for centuries to achieve specific personal goals,” he said.

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iMorph will conduct an IRB approved open-label design study for 30 days to assess the extent to which CigFree use leads to a significantly greater cessation or reduction of smoking, according to Zubchevich. “Efficacy will be based on daily reports of cigarette usage and researchers' findings of baseline-ending changes in blood pressure, oxygen saturation and pulmonary functioning typically found among people who have stopped smoking,” Zubchevich concluded.

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