Rhode Island is taking an interesting stance against smoking. The state’s Department of Health has long cautioned residents about the dangers of smoking and now they are looking to expand the reach of their message by engaging people through their smart phones. To this end, the Department has launched a new campaign that they believe will help those who want to quit. This new “mobile health” initiative has already taken hold throughout the state.
To quit smoking is a daunting challenge not easily overcome alone. The Department of Health is hoping to step in and offer some kind of support for those looking to make a change to their lives.
The new campaign allows anyone to sign up and receive text messages from the Department of Health, many of which contain simple medical facts about smoking. While there is a fair amount of enthusiasm over the campaign, officials do not expect many people to sign up for the service via text message. And so, they have turned to QR codes.
QR codes have been appearing throughout Rhode Island. Many of them are the product of advertisers looking to catch people’s attention, but a few belong to the Department of Health’s Quit It Now campaign. By scanning these codes, residents will be taken to the campaign’s mobile website where they can find a vast array of information and tips that could help them quit smoking.
While Rhode Island is not the first state to use QR codes in an official sense, they are the first to attempt to use them to improve the health of its residents.
