Three Nigerian boys develop app to curb underage smoking

Three Nigerian boys from Dansol High School in Lagos have developed an application that helps monitor data of electronic cigarette smokers in the US.

This is coming at a time when another four boys made the country proud after winning bronze medal at the recently concluded International Festival of Engineering, Science & Technology (I-FEST) held in Tunisia.

The students — Oluwatunmise Ayeni, Rotimi Adegbiji and Egie Akede — designed the ‘RET-Vape Selling App’ to help the US government regulate the purchase of e-cigarettes.

The ‘RET-Vape Selling App’ also helps the government to better monitor and regulate the purchase of e-cigarettes by producing individualized data.

The app can be used to end underage smoking since it can recognise the age of prospective buyers, flag ineligible and underage smokers, and also serve as a source of smoking history for hospitals and regulatory agencies.

The trio, who founded a company named ‘RET Innovate,’ participated in the Conrad Spirit of Innovation Challenge, and qualified for the final stage of the competition.

As a 2018-2019 Conrad Challenge finalist under the ‘smoke-free world’ category of the competition, the RET Innovate team will proceed to represent Nigeria at the 2019 Florida’s innovation summit on April 23.

The team will be competing with about 36 students’ innovators from across for seed funding, partnerships and the challenge’s top honour.

The young Nigerian boys also said that efforts are ongoing to develop a Nigerian version of the application to assist the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control  (NAFDAC) and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in the fight against underage smoking.

The Conrad Challenge is an annual, multi-phase innovation and entrepreneurial competition that encourages young adults to engage science, technology and creativity for solving societal issues.