Despite all we know about the health problems caused by using tobacco, people continue to smoke, dip or chew. This can seem baffling.

To help smokers quit, many employers and health plans still offer programs with phone coaching. Yet the average quitline participant now takes less than two calls.

With the right online communities, employers can kickstart and sustain employee engagement in improving their health. Research shows that even complex and costly addictions, such as tobacco use, can be overcome with active support from an online community.

For many of us, cell phones are our lifelines to the outside world. Yet, we spend WAY more time on our phones doing things OTHER than talking.Today’s popular communication channels—such as live chat, email and texting—provide the privacy and ability to connect with others when it works for us.

If you guess New Year’s is one of the most popular times for smokers to try to quit, you’re right. But are there other popular times? Does interest in quitting change throughout the year? Is there a seasonality to quitting?

So, you added a digital tobacco cessation program for your employees or members. Now what? If you’ve offered other wellness programs, you know providing programs is the easy part. The challenge lies in engaging people to act.

Quitting tobacco is difficult—but when an online community provides around-the-clock support, it can make the journey easier. As the community manager for the EX Community, our active online community at the core of the EX Program, I’ve seen this first hand.