SmokeClock is a free smoking timer that schedules each cigarette across your waking hours and automatically stretches the gap between them, week by week, until you reach zero. It is built for people who want to reduce their daily count without quitting cold turkey — and it does the counting for you.
Download SmokeClock FreeA smoking timer is an app that tells you exactly when your next cigarette is allowed. Instead of smoking on impulse, you smoke on schedule. The timer enforces a fixed gap between cigarettes — long enough to break the habit-loop that drives back-to-back smoking, short enough to keep withdrawal manageable.
The simple version of a smoking timer is a kitchen timer set for, say, 60 minutes between cigarettes. SmokeClock does the same thing, only better: it spaces your cigarettes evenly across your waking hours, adjusts the gap each week to bring your daily count down, and keeps a log of every cigarette you smoke so you can see your progress.
The result is the same as the kitchen timer approach, but automated. You stop counting. You stop deciding. You just follow the schedule, and the schedule gets stricter on its own.
Smoking is two habits in one: a chemical dependency on nicotine, and a behavioral pattern triggered by specific moments — first coffee, end of meal, finishing a task, getting in the car. Most quit-smoking advice attacks the chemical side (cold turkey, nicotine patches) and ignores the behavioral side. That is why most attempts fail: even when withdrawal is medicated away, the brain still expects a cigarette at the trigger moments, and one slip cascades into a relapse.
A smoking timer attacks the behavioral side directly. By forcing a fixed schedule, the timer breaks the link between trigger and cigarette. You finish your coffee, the timer says "next cigarette in 47 minutes" — and the trigger fires without producing a cigarette. Repeat for a few days and the trigger weakens. Repeat for a few weeks and the trigger fades.
At the same time, by lowering your daily count gradually (rather than going to zero overnight), the timer keeps your nicotine levels in a manageable range. You never enter acute withdrawal. The result is a slow, almost-boring path to quitting that bypasses the willpower battle entirely.
Three steps. Once configured, the app runs in the background and you only interact with it when you smoke.
Enter how many cigarettes you smoke per day, your wake time, and your sleep time. SmokeClock calculates the gap between cigarettes that matches your current intake.
The home screen widget shows your next scheduled cigarette and a live countdown. When the timer hits zero, you smoke. You log it with one tap. The next timer starts.
Each week, SmokeClock lowers your daily target by roughly 20%. The gap between cigarettes lengthens. Over 5 to 16 weeks (depending on your starting count), you reach zero.
| Method | 12-mo success | Withdrawal severity | Daily effort |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cold turkey | 3–5% | High (peaks day 2–3) | Constant willpower |
| Cold turkey + NRT | 10–15% | Medium | Apply patch / chew gum |
| Smoking timer (SmokeClock) | 10–20% (with structure) | Low (distributed) | Tap when you smoke |
Success rates from published smoking-cessation literature; see the cold-turkey-vs-gradual-reduction article for citations.
Always-visible countdown to your next scheduled cigarette, on the lock screen and home screen widget.
The app spaces your cigarettes evenly across your waking hours — no manual setup beyond entering your daily count.
Each week, the daily target drops by roughly 20%. The schedule adjusts itself; you do nothing.
Get a notification when the next cigarette is allowed — or turn notifications off and just check the widget.
Enter your local pack price; see the saved amount accumulate in real time as your daily count drops.
Everything stays on your iPhone. No accounts, no cloud, no data brokers. Verified in the privacy policy.
Yes. The full smoking timer, gradual reduction schedule, and savings tracker are free. There is an optional paid tier for additional features (extended history, advanced analytics) but the core gradual reduction plan is free forever.
Nothing breaks. Most users skip 1 to 3 scheduled cigarettes per day naturally as the spacing gets longer. The app counts only what you actually log; missed scheduled cigarettes simply mean you smoked fewer that day, and the savings tracker reflects it.
Log it. The schedule continues unchanged. Occasional overruns are expected and the plan is designed to absorb them. What matters is the trend across weeks, not the count on any given day.
Yes. Some users start with the timer just to add structure to their habit (no reduction, fixed daily count) and only switch to the gradual reduction mode after a few weeks. The timer alone — without reducing — already breaks the impulsive smoking pattern.
Not yet. SmokeClock is iPhone-only as of 2026. An Android version is on the roadmap but no release date is set.
The home screen widget on iPhone is the primary timer surface. An Apple Watch complication is on the roadmap; for now, you can see the next scheduled cigarette on your iPhone lock screen.
Free on the App Store. No account, no credit card. The timer runs in the background — you just smoke when it tells you to.
Download Free on the App Store