A validation study to trigger nicotine craving in virtual reality

Abstract

We built a virtual beer garden that contained various smoking cues (both verbal and non-verbal) using a motion capture system to record the realistic smoking behaviour related animations. Our 3-min long VR experience was optimized for Oculus Quest 2 with the hand tracking function enabled. We conducted a pilot study with 13 non-treatment-seeking nicotine-dependent cigarette smokers. The preliminary results indicate that this VR experience led to high levels of presence, and that there is a significant increase of nicotine craving - but only for those who reported a high level of immersion.