Skip to content

Effects of Mindfulness Meditation in Virtual Reality on Craving and Smoking Cessation

Effects of Mindfulness Meditation in Virtual Reality on Craving and Smoking Cessation

Status
Recruiting
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05766553
Acronym
VIREAMIND
Enrollment
200
Registered
2023-03-13
Start date
2023-06-15
Completion date
2026-12-15
Last updated
2026-01-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Tobacco Use Disorder

Keywords

relapse, craving

Brief summary

Investigators seek to propose a non-drug therapeutic alternative, namely a mindfulness meditation protocol based on virtual reality training in order to induce progressive modifications of various indicators of craving. The study hypothesis is that the practice of mindfulness meditation in a virtual reality environment reduces the craving induced by cues and stress and therefore ultimately smoking relapse. The main objective of the protocol will be to demonstrate that mindfulness meditation can reduce long-term relapse (continuous cessation (\> 30 days) of smoking cessation). The participants will be randomized into two groups: the experimental group will perform six virtual reality sessions in a multisensory cabin at the rate of one session per week; the control group will be prescribed the gold standard treatment (nicotine patches and chewing gum). Participants will be seen again at three and six months to assess whether or not there has been a smoking relapse.

Interventions

OTHERVirtual reality pod

The first two sessions provide guided training in relaxation and mindfulness through immersion in a virtual forest environment for the first session, and in a virtual beach environment for the second. Sessions 3 and 4 present environments with addiction-related stimuli (Cues). The session 3 consists of a walk through the virtual street environment, buying a bottle of water from the store, and then ordering a coffee from a virtual bar. The session 4 takes place in a virtual party environment in an apartment: people smoke and drink alcohol in the living room, the session consists of sitting with them, then going to the kitchen to get a water bottle. Sessions 5 and 6 present stressful environments. Session 5 consists of a virtual parachute jump. The 6th session takes place in a virtual airplane environment, which will encounter turbulence.

OTHERnicotine patches and chewing gum

Participants in this group will be prescribed a Gold Standard smoking cessation treatment with nicotine patches adapted to their consumption and 4mg nicotine chewing gum for a period of 3 months.

Sponsors

Centre Hospitalier Henri Laborit
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 75 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Any patient consuming 10 to 40 cigarettes per day * Woman or man aged 18 to 75 inclusive * Substance use disorder according to the DSM5 classification * Benefit from social security or benefit from it through a third party in accordance with French law on research involving the human person * Having signed the informed consent form after having received written information.

Exclusion criteria

* Disabling cognitive disorders * Patient under 18 or over 75 years old. * Patient with a psychological disorder or a psychiatric pathology requiring specialized follow-up * Patient with addiction to another product. * Cardiological pathologies that could compromise the participation of patients, detected by an ECG (only for patients who will be randomized in the experimental group). * Advanced pulmonary, renal, and hepatic diseases, or any unstable and serious medical conditions that could compromise the patient's participation in the study, subject to the judgment of the doctor * Pregnant or breastfeeding woman * Simultaneous participation in another trial * Employee of the investigator or of the clinical trial site * Patients protected by law * Patients who do not speak the French language * People not covered by state health insurance * Patients who in the opinion of the investigator are unable to complete the questionnaires * Patient claustrophobic or anxious about using the cabin * Patient allergic to a molecule present in nicotine substitutes

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Relapse at 3 months3 monthsRelapse of patients by declaring their consumption at 3 months.
Relapse at 6 months6 monthsRelapse of patients by declaring their consumption at 6 months.

Countries

France

Contacts

Primary ContactNematollah JAAFARI
nemat.jaafari@ch-poitiers.fr+33 5 16 52 61 18

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026