CONFERENCE PROCEEDING
Virtual reality induction of the Garcia effect for smoking cessation
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Mother. AB, Stockholm, Sweden
Publication date: 2023-04-25
Tob. Prev. Cessation 2023;9(Supplement):A69
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ABSTRACT
Smoking is a major health risk in the EU, and there is a need to improve tobacco cessation methods.
‘Sick Of Smoking’ is a novel method for tobacco cessation (TC), consisting of a unique form of aversive conditioning that uses three 5-minute virtual reality (VR) sessions to rapidly induce a powerful and long-lasting aversion to the taste and smell of cigarettes.
Nausea is induced while the participant consumes their tobacco after a period of abstinence that was as long as they can comfortably manage. This combination triggers the ‘Garcia effect’, a powerful and highly conserved biological mechanism that creates a taste aversion to the taste and smell of the participants tobacco product (cigarettes, snus or vapes for example).