Smokers “Context Reactivity” in Virtual Domestic Environments

Abstract

Introduction: Although the effects of proximal smoking cues have been widely studied in smokers, little is known on the features associated with background spatial context ef-fect, that is, “context reactivity.” The aim of this study was to investigate context reactivity exhibited by smokers in virtual cue-free domestic scenarios. Methods: Sixty-nine partici-pants divided in 2 cohorts (33 smokers and 36 non-smokers) were exposed to a virtual reality session with 4 domestic room scenarios presented in a balanced order: bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and living room. Results: We showed that (i) it is possible to elicit smoking craving in smokers in virtual reality, and (ii) these effects are room dependent and (iii) associated with a lower sense of presence; furthermore, (iv) smokers reported higher craving scores for alcohol and food in a room-dependent fashion compared to non-smok-ers. Conclusion: Our study provides an experimental para-digm for assessing context reactivity in smokers and sug-gests a potential use for the identification of non-pharmaco-logical interventions as a co-adjuvant of smoking cessation treatment.