Novu Launches Smoking Cessation Program To Help Smokers Successfully Quit And Lead Healthier Lives

MINNEAPOLIS, March 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Half a century since the first Surgeon General's report linking cigarette smoking to lung cancer, new reports released earlier this year say smoking can cause diabetes, colorectal and liver cancer and rheumatoid arthritis, among a host of other diseases and health conditions.   Ready to help the 18 percent of Americans who still smoke, innovative health technology services firm, Novu, announced today that its new smoking cessation program is now available on the online Novu consumer health engagement and rewards platform.   

The new program is based on methods and content developed and verified by academic experts delivered in Novu's consumer-friendly online package that integrates the proven content with personalized activities, coaching, community support, gamification in the form of challenges and rewards.  The program joins hundreds of Novu's programs that are helping people make lifestyle changes -- like eating better, increasing exercise, losing weight or better managing stress -- to enhance their health.

"According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the annual costs attributable to smoking in the U.S. is about $200 billion a year, including direct medical costs and productivity loss from both smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke," said Tom Wicka, CEO of Novu.  

"We are on a mission to build the world's largest and most engaged consumer community focused on health and to prove that healthy is good for everyone: insurers, healthcare providers, employers, employees, individuals, families and entire communities.   The Novu platform was designed from the ground up to integrate great content and proven methods with personalization, community, gamification and rewards.  This unique formula enables a high degree of engagement and a trusted relationship to lead individuals to make positive lifestyle changes to enhance their health."

People use Novu's comprehensive online tool to take charge of their health by setting goals, monitoring their progress against those goals, learning about health and wellness, competing in challenges with online communities, improving their lifestyles and being rewarded for achieving. 

Novu's content includes more than 200 online programs, which are based on proven research by experts from leading U.S. universities.  The current Novu programs cover nutrition, strength, cardio, stress management, life purpose, smoking cessation and, coming soon, programs for sleep health and financial wellness. 

The smoking cessation program is structured in a step-by-step progression with three primary plans:

• The Why Quit Plan -- covers educational content on why people smoke and includes a personal values assessment and reflection.
• The How Quit Plan -- includes pre and post-quit coaching communications and activities. This stage is core to the program and is where the individual sets a quit date, prepares and learns of common triggers that can cause setbacks.
• The Stay Quit Plan -- addresses long-term strategies to stay a non-smoker and covers concerns such as weight gain and stress.

The self-paced program delivers well-timed, tailored coaching communications, challenges, highly supportive peer-community engagement and rewards not found in other quit smoking programs.  Unlike other Novu programs, which are two-weeks in length, this program allows individuals to take as much time as they need to achieve their goals.

Novu: Proven to Help People Make Healthy Choices
Novu recently completed a year-long study with thousands of participants that completed nearly 19,000 personalized Novu health and wellness programs focused on nutrition, strength and cardio.  The study's aim was to assess if Novu's unique approach combining tailored engagement, community, gamification and rewards helped individuals set and achieve goals and led them to positive changes to improve overall health.

During the study the top 25 percent of active members:

• Averaged almost six visits per week – nearly daily usage.
• Participated in at least two programs.
• Completed an average of nine challenges during a three-month period.
• Accumulated more than 13 million reward points collectively.

A key finding revealed that frequent usage of Novu is a critical factor in its success to drive real personal lifestyle changes to enhance individual health.

Novu also conducted a recent survey of the study participants and found:

• 93 percent of those using the nutritional programs indicated that their primary goal was either to lose weight or to improve nutritional habits.
• More than 80 percent of those surveyed indicated that they believe Novu nutrition and fitness-related programs helped them reach their personal health goals.
• Nearly 70 percent saw their Body Mass Index (BMI) decrease more than seven percent. 

About Novu
Novu is a Minneapolis-based health technology services company with the sole purpose of breaking down the barriers to wellness and enabling everybody to lead and live a healthy lifestyle. 

The company markets and sells the Novu platform primarily to health insurance companies, health services organizations and corporate employers.  Insurance companies are eager to help their members achieve wellness and to also reap the benefits of insured members' enhanced health with reduced claims.  Health service providers integrate Novu into their service offering to better serve the patient community with the tools and services to treat various medical conditions, enhance patient care and engagement and overall health. Corporate employers offer Novu as a Corporate Wellness Program to drive enhanced health among their employee bases, and thus enjoy increased productivity and reduced absenteeism. 

The Novu technology platform is integrated with customized engagement solutions created specifically for each new client organization and its community's unique needs.  Weekly challenges add a fun gamification element. Novu members can find peers to engage with and compete against online. Rewards come in the form of points, which can be redeemed for discount offers, charitable donations and a chance to win popular electronics and trips in weekly raffles.  For more information please visit www.novu.com.

Media: Mardi Larson, 612.928.0202 or [email protected]

SOURCE Novu