Smoke-free thanks to VR

Hypnosis, acupuncture, nicotine patches or chewing gum - the list of remedies and methods that are supposed to pave the way to a smoke-free life is long. Many have tried everything and yet the addiction was stronger. Now the next promising attempt is virtual reality (VR).

People who want to quit smoking will soon be able to do so with the help of virtual reality (VR). The Californian start-up Mindcotine is working on a VR app that will make it easier to give up smoking.

Virtual smoking without harmful substances

In terms of content, the VR app introduces introspection through meditative approaches and then moves on to virtual smoking. The feeling should be extremely similar to real smoking. Users can smoke without damaging their organs, without having bad breath afterwards, without getting yellow teeth and whatever else the bad habit entails. But this is just the beginning.

Psychological striptease to kill habits

A large proportion of the cessation services offered to date are based on the cognitive behavioural therapy approach. Human behaviours that have been learned can also be "unlearned" or "relearned" as part of a therapeutic process. Quitting tobacco always means renouncing deeply ingrained behaviours and habits. To do this, you must first discover and understand these yourself.
After downloading the app, you first have to perform a psychological striptease. Various questions determine the level of addiction. An individual programme is then put together depending on how strong the addiction is. Each cycle lasts a fortnight, with different topics being worked on each time. The app uses mindfulness techniques, biofeedback and other psychological methods to help smokers gradually break their bad habits.

Virtual support community

In addition, the Mindcotine app will also have a communication function that will provide further support from the community. The developers are of the opinion that most smokers did not start smoking alone - so why should they quit alone? Mindcotine will also provide a mentor who is already smoke-free.

Source: metro.co.uk / Kickstarter