RECRUITING Not applicable ClinicalTrials.gov

Generalized and Domain-Specific Episodic Thinking for Smoking Cessation

Sponsor: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University • ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT07158749

Registry updated: 2026-10-13

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Description

Cigarette smoking remains common, particularly in rural areas, despite ample evidence that smoking causes cancer and respiratory disease. Successful smoking cessation yields the majority of its health benefits (e.g., avoidance of lung cancer) after years of sustained behavioral change; however, people who smoke cigarettes tend to show elevated rates of delay discounting (i.e., devaluation of delayed outcomes) and a bias for immediate gratification. The overall goal of this project is to develop different versions of an episodic future thinking intervention (i.e., visualization of the future) and test their feasibility and efficacy for smoking cessation in rural and urban populations.

Interventions

Episodic Future Thinking (EFT) (Behavioral)
Participants will engage in EFT for 8 weeks, three times a day. Participants will receive three daily text messages. Each prompt will link to a custom web interface that guides participants to read and vividly imagine one of their cues, chosen randomly. Visit times and durations will be recorded.
Episodic Recent Thinking (ERT) (Behavioral)
Participants will engage in ERT for 8 weeks, three times a day. Participants will receive three daily text messages. Each prompt will link to a custom web interface that guides participants to read and vividly imagine one of their cues, chosen randomly. Visit times and durations will be recorded.
Domain-specific episodic thinking (Behavioral)
Content of the episodic thinking intervention will experiencing the symptoms of lung cancer during a broad range of personally meaningful, otherwise positive, events (e.g., social events, celebrations, spending times with friends and family).
Generalized episodic thinking (Behavioral)
Content of the episodic thinking intervention will include a broad range of personally meaningful, positive, events (e.g., social events, celebrations, spending times with friends and family).

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria: * smoked cigarettes daily for the last 30 days; * salivary cotinine \> 30 ng/mL, consistent with tobacco use; * plan to quit smoking in the next 30 days Exclusion Criteria: * prior diagnosis with a smoking-related illness (e.g., respiratory disease); * past 30-day use any smoking cessation treatment; * anxiety or mood disorders; and * medical contraindications for use of nicotine replacement therapy (e.g. pregnancy).

Conditions

Cigarette Smoking Behavior

Locations

Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC — Roanoke, Virginia, United States

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Official Source

Data sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

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