Today on Twitter, I saw the following tweet:
@Nicorette "Trying to find a way to pass the time during a tough craving? Play our Crave Breaker game to help get you by. http://www.facebook.com/nicorette?v=app_349317715485"
Nicorette, of course, produces smoking-cessation aids like nicotine gum and lozenges. Their slogan these days is "Making Quitting Suck Less," which seems like a reasonable promise and truth in advertising.
There's much debate about the best way to handle cravings, from those who teach mindfulness-based strategies like surfing the urge (paying attention to how the craving feels, without acting on it), to those who teach quitters to distract themselves (as one of my Science of Willpower students dubbed it, the "get busy" strategy). A game is an interesting strategy - it could provide a distraction that might itself be addictive, a good thing if that gets your mind off the cigarette you're craving.
Curious, I clicked over to see what the Crave Breaker game was. Sure enough, it was a simple but satisfying distraction. But Nicorette made one curious choice: the game involves aiming a ball at cigarettes that spell the word "CRAVING." It's a cute game: knock down your cravings by knocking down the cigarettes.
While a good idea in theory, there is ample evidence that any smoking-related cue, especially images of cigarettes, triggers cravings [1]. Trying to quit only amplifies the effect that seeing a cigarette has on the brain - triggering a flood of dopamine that creates the "want" and activating areas associated with physical pain and anxiety to create the "need."
So, great distraction or trigger that will push a smoker over the edge? If you're trying to quit smoking, try it out and let us know in the comments. And if your craving is for chocolate or fast food, who knows -- this might be the perfect tool for you.
Post-script: It took me a couple of tries to get to round two of the game, where the cigarettes no longer spell "CRAVING" but "COFFEE." Is this a reminder to seek a substitute fix? If anyone gets past round two -- do they spell CHOCOLATE or COCKTAIL?
Cited:
1. Ferguson, S. & Shiffman, S. (2009). Cue-induced cravings for cigarettes. Current Cardiovascular Risk Reports, 3(6), 385 -390. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12170-009-0057-0
