Evaluating the Episodic Future Thinking Intervention for Reducing Cigarette Consumption in Cigarette Smokers

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center

Status: Enrolling

Conditions: Cigarette Smoking-Related Carcinoma

Treatments: Other: Medical Device Usage and Evaluation; Behavioral: Smoking Cessation Intervention; Behavioral: Smoking Cessation Intervention (control)

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05825001

I 2684022

Details and patient eligibility

About

This clinical trial evaluates the effectiveness of active episodic future thinking (EFT) stimuli for reducing cigarette consumption in cigarette smokers. EFT is an innovative framing method shown to significantly activate brain regions involved in future thinking, planning, and other executive functions. Active EFT stimuli are positive events, unrelated to smoking, that participants anticipate, look forward to, and can vividly imagine happening up to 1 year in the future. Control EFT stimuli are positive past events, unrelated to smoking, that participants can vividly remember happening in the recent past. Active EFT stimuli may help reduce cigarette consumption among cigarette smokers by exposing them to personally relevant future oriented stimuli.

Full description

PRIMARY OBJEECTIVE:

I. To evaluate the efficacy of episodic future thinking (EFT) for smoking cessation.

OUTLINE: Participants are randomized to 1 of 2 arms.

ARM I (ACTIVE): Participants receive the active EFT stimulus and use the iCOquit Smokerlyzer carbon monoxide monitor on study.

ARM II (CONTROL): Participants receive the control EFT stimulus and use the iCOquit Smokerlyzer carbon monoxide monitor on study.

Enrollment: 96 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Smoke >= 10 cigarettes daily

• >32 on the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ)

• No regular use of other tobacco products

• In possession of a smartphone with text messaging capabilities

  • Willing to quit smoking in the next 30 days
  • Low socioeconomic status
  • Veteran of the US armed services

Exclusion criteria

• Unable or unwilling to provide verbal consent
• Unable or unwilling to provide data to the research team
• Current use of nicotine replacement therapy, bupropion, or varenicline
• Use of drugs of abuse in the past 30 days
• Living in the same household as a participant already enrolled in this study
• Unable or unwilling to use nicotine patches

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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96 participants in 2 patient groups

Arm 1 (active EFT)

Experimental group

Description:

Participants receive the active EFT stimulus and use the iCOquit Smokerlyzer carbon monoxide monitor on study.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Smoking Cessation Intervention

Other: Medical Device Usage and Evaluation

Arm II (control EFT)

Active Comparator group

Description:

Participants receive the control EFT stimulus and use the iCOquit Smokerlyzer carbon monoxide monitor on study.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Smoking Cessation Intervention (control)

Other: Medical Device Usage and Evaluation