Tobacco.org

Butting out in virtual reality may have real-life results 

A recent study by the GRAP Occupational Psychology Clinic and University of Quebec in Gatineau found that smokers who destroyed cigarettes in a virtual-reality environment many times over a period of months reported having less of a tobacco addiction than those who were assigned another virtual-reality task.

The theory behind the study, published in the current issue of the U.S.-based CyberPsychology and Behavior journal, is that the participants developed a "stronger drive" to quit smoking, because they subconsciously visualized themselves destroying their addiction.

Ninety-one smokers who were enrolled in a 12-week anti-smoking program were randomly divided into two groups.

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