Abstract
BackgroundOver the last 2 decades, virtual reality technologies (VRTs) have been proposed as a way to enhance and improve smoking cessation therapy.ObjectiveThis systematic review aims to evaluate and summarize the current knowledge on the application of VRT in various smoking cessation therapies, as well as to explore potential directions for future research and intervention development.MethodsA literature review of smoking interventions using VRT was conducted.ResultsNot all intervention studies included an alternative therapy or a placebo condition against which the effectiveness of the intervention could be benchmarked, or a follow-up measure to ensure that the effects were lasting. Virtual reality (VR) cue exposure therapy was the most extensively studied intervention, but its effect on long-term smoking behavior was inconsistent. Behavioral therapies such as a VR approach-avoidance task or gamified interventions were less common but reported positive results. Notably, only 1 study combined Electronic Nicotine Delivery Devices with VRT.ConclusionsThe inclusion of a behavioral component, as is done in the VR approach-avoidance task and gamified interventions, may be an interesting avenue for future research on smoking interventions. As Electronic Nicotine Delivery Devices are still the subject of much controversy, their potential to support smoking cessation remains unclear. For future research, behavioral or multicomponent interventions are promising avenues of exploration. Future studies should improve their validity by comparing their intervention group with at least 1 alternative or placebo control group, as well as incorporating follow-up measures.
Highlights
Smoking addiction is a worldwide [1] and costly [2] problem
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders lists nicotine dependency as a psychological disorder [11]; 55% of US smokers try to quit every year [12], but it has been estimated that between 60% and 90% of them relapse within the first year [12,13,14]
The study did not report whether it controlled for previous Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) use by the participants. These results show an interesting pattern in combination with the findings from Moon and Lee [77], who found that even as brain areas associated with addiction and craving became less active over time during Virtual reality (VR)-Cue exposure therapy (CET), participants still reported feeling similar levels of craving
Summary
Background Smoking addiction is a worldwide [1] and costly [2] problem. Tobacco smoking has been linked to cardiovascular disease [3], various types of cancer [4,5,6] and respiratory problems [7], among other diseases, reducing the consumers’ quality of life [8], and lowering life expectancy by up to 4 years [9]. Smoking addiction has a strong psychological component [15,16] in addition to physiological dependence. Physiological craving may only take a few weeks to wane [17], but the habit and psychological link between smoking, socializing, relaxing, and rewarding are much harder to abandon [16]. Over the last 2 decades, virtual reality technologies (VRTs) have been proposed as a way to enhance and improve smoking cessation therapy
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