SA Quit Tracker

🎯 What Inspired Us

• In 2023, a landmark UCT‑Utrecht study surveyed 25 149 South African learners, finding 16.8% currently vape, with 47% vaping within an hour of waking—a clear marker of nicotine dependence ([pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov][1]).
• Similarly, studies found 58% of students regularly consume energy drinks—many daily—to stay awake, concentrate, or feel alert, with 12% admitting addiction ([hsag.co.za][2]).
• These stats, combined with known health risks (cardiac, mental, cognitive), made us realize how under‑supported South Africans are in quitting these embedded habits.

🧠 What We Learned

• Nicotine addiction in youth is deep—frequent morning vaping, social pressures, and stress coping ([pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov][1]).
• Caffeine dependence often masks itself as productivity help, with many unaware of health consequences .
• Lasting change requires data, motivation, and community support—not just cold turkey.

🔧 How We Built It

1. Dual‑tracking interface: separate logs for vaping and energy drinks, tailored to South African units and contexts.
2. Progress dashboards: show quit milestones, money saved, and health wins over time.
3. Insights and tips: based on local research (e.g. SA-centric withdrawal timelines, average caffeine intake).
4. Community element: forums and peer support, recognizing how social factors drive initiation and relapse.

⚠️ Challenges We Faced

• Balancing sensitivity and engagement: young users often dismiss energy drinks as harmless. Presenting data without scaring them was tough.
• Combining dual addictions: many users quit one, only to lean into the other. Managing both streams together meant careful design to avoid overload.
• Localizing research: statistics for adults exist, but youth‑specific data was patchy beyond big studies—our dashboard still needs more South African input.

🚀 The Result

The only platform in South Africa built to guide users through two common, related addictions—vaping and energy drinks—with tracked progress, personalized insights, and local relevance.

Built With

• bolt
• openai
• supabase