Smart necklace uses heat signal to track smoking habits

Developed by researchers at Northwestern University, SmokeMon resembles a pendant or necklace. Tracking the heat signal given off by cigarettes, the device can detect when one is lit, how much smokers inhale, the time between drags, and the length of time the cigarette is in the mouth. Collectively, this information is known as smoking topography, and it is important data both for understanding smoking-related diseases and supporting people trying to quit the habit.

“We want to catch them before they completely fall off the wagon,” said senior investigator Nabil Alshurafa, associate professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “Once they do, it’s much harder for them to quit again.

“For many people who attempt to quit smoking, a slip is one or two cigarettes or even a single puff. But a slip is not the same as a relapse (going back to smoking regularly). A person can learn from slips, by gaining awareness that they did not fail, they just had a temporary setback. To avoid a relapse, we can then begin to shift their focus on how we handle their triggers and deal with cravings.”