After seeing a no-smoking piece of advice from actor Akshay Kumar in theaters in 2018. IIT alumnus “Prateek Sharma” became extremely motivated. An idea then occurred to him that not only suited his field of research but could also have a significant societal impact. Sharma is about to introduce “Cigibud”. Which is known as “The world’s first smoking cessation filter”. After working extremely hard and with tenacious persistence for over five years.
This week will bring about the official launch of Cigibud. According to Sharma, it can remove up to 80% of the nicotine and tar from a single cigarette without changing the flavor or smoking experience, and it can aid a smoker in quitting in three months.
When the concept for a smoking cessation filter emerged, Sharma was already working to create a cutting-edge air filtering system to lessen the harmful effects of pollution on human health.
He created Nanofiber technology at the India Institute of Technology [IIT] Delhi with the assistance of his instructors and obtained a patent for it. After receiving his degree in 2015, he started working to commercialize the technology by developing goods based on it. For his creative efforts, he was given the “Startup National Award 2017” by the President of India.
“Among the projects we were already working on are Nano Filters, Nano Mask, and Nano Clean Pollution Net. The recommendation, however, motivated us to widen the scope of our work and as per their suggestions, we chose to employ the same technology to create something that can assist individuals in quitting smoking”. Sharma said
According to research conducted by Sharma’s team, 63% of smokers wish to stop but fail to do so due to nicotine addiction. They also learned that even contrary to the WHO, just 4% of smokers are successful in quitting despite any help.
Sharma realized that there was something in between advising people to quit smoking and actually quitting smoking. So in order for Sharma to fill in the gap, he really started working hard on the project. Finally, after four years he and his team came up with “CIGIBUD”- The world’s first smoking cessation filter. He also asserts that “it will assist a smoker in quitting smoking in three months.” The main goal of Cigibud is to help people quit smoking. However, those who don’t want to are encouraged to start using it,” he added. “Nanofibers in Cigibud will not only smooth out the smoke but lessen its dangers as well.”
Cigibud is sold in packages of 30 filters for Rs 350 each. Although it is only recommended that one filter be used once. Individuals can use it up to three times before it loses its efficacy. Although it is recommended that a filter only be used once, users are allowed to use them a maximum of three times before they start to lose their efficacy.
When asked if the price will deter people from using it given that one filter costs about Rs. 10 and should ideally only be used once, Sharma responded that people should consider the long-term benefits, both in terms of money and health, which they will have after quitting smoking or reducing how often they smoke.