QUIT USING TOBACCO

AN AI ENABLED APPLICATION THAT HELPS PEOPLE GET RID OF THEIR TOBACCO ADDICTION

UC Berkeley Business Innovation and Analytics Program

AI Healthcare Innovation challenge

• Ishika Bhosale
• ishikabhosale9@gmail.com

WHAT FOR WHAT STATEMENT

An AI enabled Application that helps people get rid of their tobacco addiction and helps improve their lifestyle

Goal: Zero Percent tobacco consumption in India

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Why is a solution important?

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Top 10 Risk Factors in Meghalaya

Meghalaya State

1^st

Highest incident of oesophageal cancer in the country

2^nd

Most number of smokers in the country and very close to first

5^th

In the country with 47.2 % of its population consuming tobacco

15^th

In the country with 20.3% of the population consuming smokeless form of tobacco

1^st

2^nd

Tobacco causes coronary and peripheral arterial diseases, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, peptic ulcer disease, and cancers of the lungs, oral cavity, and gastrointestinal tract. It is the only legal drug that kills most of its users when used exactly as intended by manufacturers.

*data as per to GATS survey 2016-17

Tobacco Control Management in Meghalaya

MOTIVATION

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Around 50% of the users are advised to quit by a health care provider

National Tobacco Control Program:

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Government’s NTCP has one of it’s aims to help the people quit tobacco use.

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Current initiatives in Meghalaya:

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Major focus on education of young Adults. Implementation of ToFEI* by all the Schools, Health camps and Health Mela, Roadshows, FM and AIR Radio, Installation of IEC materials at public places, etc.

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- Data validated by Dr Lana Lyngdoh: State Nodal Officer (NOHP/NTCP) Meghalaya, Shillong.

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* Tobacco Free Educational Institutions

Solution Approach

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Cue

Reward

Routine

New Routine

How to get through the rough spots?

• If you miss the feeling of having a cigarette in your hand, hold something else – a pencil, a paper clip, a coin, or a marble, for example.
• If you miss the feeling of having something in your mouth, try toothpicks, cinnamon sticks, sugarless gum, sugar-free lollipops, or celery. Some people chew on a straw or stir stick.
• Avoid temptation – stay away from activities, people, and places you link with using tobacco.
• Create new habits and a tobacco-free environment around you.

Satisfaction

• Inserting a new healthy routine in the habit cycle
• Supporting with the help of medications
• Best way is to go cold turkey + medications + assistance
• Maintaining the motivation

Breaking the Habit Loop

Identifying the cues or triggers

Identifying the when, where and why

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Reminders

Money saved

Tracking

How will our application work?

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Motivating to quit smoking

Free Trials

Subscribing + Assistance

Doctor’s/ Specialist’s Consultation

Algorithm tracks consumptions

AI provides personalised solutions

Reiterating and Re-evaluating

Get rid of the tobacco addiction using AI

Features of the application

Solutions in Local Language

Formation of support groups

Organization of events

Visits to hospitals

With the assistance of the government

MayaMD

VALUE PROPOSITION

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Using user-specific features in our algorithm

CONSUMER SEGMENT

QUIT TOBACCO

Market Segments

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Consumer Archetype

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• Primarily farmers
• Low spending capacity
• Age old sociocultural habits of the population of consuming tobacco
• People of age 15 and above

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5,500 people (~15% of the population of 63 villages of contingency plan)

0.8 million people (~25% of Meghalaya’s population)

275 million tobacco users in India

Pains

• Screening of diseases by agencies in the past have been limited to NCDs and not diverse for lifestyle
• Absence of technologically relevant and advanced solutions at village level
• Increasing health burden

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Gains

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• Solution catering to the village population
• Addressing both smoke and smokeless form of tobacco
• Help in local language

Revenue Model

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Approximately a regular user spends Rs. 1192 on cigarettes monthly in Meghalaya (According to GATS 2016-2017 survey)

The total economic costs attributable to tobacco use from all diseases and deaths in India between 2017 and 2018 for persons over 35 years amounted to Rs 1,77,500 crores (US$ 27.5 billion)

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For every Rs 100 received as excise taxes from tobacco products, Indian economy loses Rs 816

Expenses

Product Development

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• App Development
• Data collection
• Testing
• Time to develop (1 year – 1.5 year)

MayaMD Fees

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• Virtual Assistant Product
• Telemedicine Network

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Advertisement

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• Market Research
• Social Media Promotion
• Physical Promotion

Research and Development

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• Patents (IP)
• Solution Validation and further development

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Customer Relationships

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Ways to get customers

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• Motivation to quit tobacco
• Advertising campaigns: Physical and virtual
• Free trials and Bootcamps

Ways to grow customers

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• Motivating others to quit
• Word of mouth
• Blogs and documentaries of satisfied customers

Ways to keep customers

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• Maintain the motivation to quit tobacco by our app
• Keeping track of progress
• Guaranteed solutions

Motivation

Why do you want to quit?

Tobacco related diseases

Effects of passive smoking on family

Saving money (also medical expenses)

Look, feel and be healthier

DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS

Web distribution

• Play store
• Advertisements
• Google Ad-sense
• Facebook Ads
• WhatsApp
• Social Ecommerce
• Website/Social Media

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QUIT USING TOBACCO

Physical Distribution

• Direct sales
• Physical Campaigns
• Bootcamps in villages
• Hospital Visits
• Live flash sales

A distribution channel is a chain of businesses or intermediaries through which a good or service passes until it reaches the final buyer or the end consumer

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PARTNERS

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Government

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Resources:

• Funding
• Faster time to market
• Previous data and relevant information
• Credibility and trust by users
• Incorporation of Quitline

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Activities:

• Help/access for the implementation on ground

MayaMD:

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Resources:

• Platform
• Telemedicine network

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Activities:

• Data collection on the platform
• Building a stronger model based on the data

Similar App adopted by the US Government to help people become smoke free

ACTIVITIES

• In-app features
• Tracking Consumption
• Tracking Money Saved
• Health Benefits
• Personalised Solution and techniques
• Improving health and lifestyle with healthy habits

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• Consultation
• Marketing
• Customer Service

• Financial Resources
• Government
• Angel Funding

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• Human Resources
• Software Engineers
• Data Scientists
• Marketers

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• Intellectual Property
• Trademark
• Copyright
• Patents

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RESOURCES

Aim to develop and standardize an innovative and timely approach to evaluate apps for commitment to evidenced-based practice

HISTORY OF MAJOR PIVOTS

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1. Started with AI based Step down ICU Beds
2. With feedback I found that it is a very competitive field and difficult for implementation I started looking at other problem statements
3. Switched project to Tobacco control management
4. Looked into AI based solutions catering tobacco control and helping people quit tobacco
5. With feedback took government as a Market segment
6. Proposal consisting of collaborating with the government and MayaMd for a robust solution

How are we different?

Existing Solutions:

• Does not cater village demographic
• Do not address smokeless form of tobacco consumption

Our solution:

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• Unique solution understanding the needs of people in villages and their demographic
• Cater both Smoke and smokeless form of tobacco
• Leveraging open innovation solutions
• Collaborating with different partners to satisfy consumer needs (Indian Villages)

VALIDATION

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MAJOR RESOURCES

https://www.rogelcancercenter.org/breaking-habits-beating-us/smokeless-tobacco

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Book by Henry Chesbrough, Solomon Darwin, and Werner Fischer “How to Create Smart Villages: Open Innovation Solutions”

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https://www.rogelcancercenter.org/breaking-habits-beating-us/smokeless-tobacco

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Bhattacharyya H, Pala S, Medhi GK, Sarkar A, Roy D. Tobacco: Consumption pattern and risk factors in selected areas of Shillong, Meghalaya. J Family Med Prim Care. 2018;7(6):1406-1410. doi:10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_140_18

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6293893/

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https://www.who.int/india/news/detail/09-02-2021-india-loses-1-of-its-gdp-to-diseases-and-early-deaths-from-tobacco-use-finds-who-study

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https://www.sentinelassam.com/north-east-india-news/meghalaya-news/esophageal-cancer-caused-by-the-use-of-tobacco-records-the-highest-in-meghalaya/

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https://www.who.int/southeastasia/activities/the-fatal-link-between-tobacco-and-cardiovascular-diseases

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West R. Tobacco smoking: Health impact, prevalence, correlates and interventions. Psychol Health. 2017;32(8):1018-1036. doi:10.1080/08870446.2017.1325890

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5490618/

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THANK YOU

ishikabhosale9@gmail.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ishika-bhosale-250965177/

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