City's quit-smoking program proving hit amid coronavirus pandemic

With many smokers reconsidering a habit that seems more dangerous than ever as the coronavirus pandemic rages, an app promoted by a city in western Japan last year may be the way forward for those ready to quit.Toyonaka in Osaka Prefecture, which launched the program last year, has seen a roughly threefold increase in users since the pandemic began.A key advantage of the online approach to helping smokers quit is that they can avoid "the three C's" -- closed spaces, crowded places, and close-contact settings -- that visits to outpatient clinics would involve.The program, which last for one …READ FULL ARTICLE