After the clock strikes midnight and the champagne bottle’s emptied, January 1st welcomes the most hopeful of traditions – New Year’s resolutions. But why do they rarely last beyond January? Lizzy Pope, who studies health behaviours, explains why people find it hard to stick to their goals.

From nicotine gum to e-cigarettes, the global smoking cessation-aid market was worth around $2.4 billion in 2011, and as healthcare costs soar and more people seek to give up, its value is set to grow. But when it comes to kicking the habit, what will get people to quit – the carrot or the stick?

Would you rather jet off to the Bahamas next week, or save and go in a years’ time? In an ‘I want it now’ culture, thinking for the future is hard. When two-thirds of boomers retire they won’t have saved enough to maintain their lifestyle. How can brands encourage people to think about tomorrow, today?

Setting unrealistic goals is something we all do, especially when it comes to self-improvement. We strive to be fitter, smarter, kinder, or to eat more healthily. But shaking off old habits is hard. Sometimes we don’t even get started. Can a step-by-step app, informed by behavioural science, come to our rescue?