How BetterPoints helped Sam give up smoking
Hounslow Council asked BetterPoints for a programme to help people take personal responsibility for their health, particularly among those at risk of developing avoidable long-term conditions.
The One You Hounslow programme targets people at risk of developing conditions that arise from factors such as lifestyle and occupation – Diabetes, Asthma, COPD, for example – and uses the BetterPoints app to encourage and reward them for making incremental, achievable changes in their behaviour.
Sam joined the programme after attending a smoking cessation session, when he saw the Stop Smoking rewards advertised on a poster.
He was interested to see that not only could he receive BetterPoints for attending those sessions, he could also earn them by walking more.
“All of this together has helped motivate me even more, not only to finally quit smoking, but to keep active too”, says Sam.
“Now”, he says, “I’m still proudly smoke-free and indeed walking more, and I’m very thankful to BetterPoints for this great help.”
As well as encouraging smokers to quit, the programme helps people become more physically active. In 2021–22, levels of physical activity increased among 70% of people identified as ‘inactive’ when they joined the programme.
