Can future-focused thinking help smokers quit?

While most adults who smoke cigarettes want to quit, and half report trying to quit in the previous year, less than 1 in 10 succeed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Jeff Stein, a health behaviors researcher at Virginia Tech’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, has been awarded a new grant from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health to test a low-cost behavioral intervention that may help people — particularly those in rural areas — quit smoking.

Smoking remains a leading preventable cause of death and disease in the United States. “Nearly all adults who smoke cigarettes know smoking causes cancer, and most indicate they want to quit,” said Stein, assistant professor at Virginia Tech’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute. “But knowing that smoking affects your health isn’t enough to motivate people.”

The study will test variations of a method called episodic future thinking, which trains participants to vividly imagine positive personal events in their future, helping reduce impulsivity and encourage healthier choices. By focusing attention on long-term rewards rather than the immediate relief that nicotine provides, episodic future thinking may promote lasting behavior change.

Participants will be recruited from both rural and urban areas for a remote study. Each will receive information on smoking cessation and nicotine replacement therapy. The study’s findings could help tailor future public health interventions that target tobacco use and other substance-related behaviors.

This research builds on previous Fralin Biomedical Research Institute studies showing that episodic future thinking can positively influence a range of addictive behaviors.

Additional information:

Cancer prevention: Can future-focused thinking help smokers quit?

About Stein

Jeff Stein is an assistant professor at Virginia Tech’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC. His research applies behavioral economics to prevent and treat lifestyle-related chronic disease. He is also interim co-director of the institute’s Center for Health Behaviors Research and holds an appointment in Virginia Tech’s Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Schedule an interview

To schedule an interview with Jeff Stein, contact Leigh Anne Kelley at lakelley@vt.edu or 540-526-2002.