Texting your way to quit smoking: Future-Thinking app tested
NCT ID NCT07158749
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Aug 07, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This pilot study tests whether a technique called Episodic Future Thinking (EFT) can help people quit smoking. 134 daily smokers will receive text prompts three times a day for 8 weeks, guiding them to vividly imagine positive future events. The goal is to see if this reduces the number of cigarettes smoked per day compared to a control group that recalls recent events.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Episodic Future Thinking (EFT) - a behavioral intervention where participants vividly imagine future events via text prompts
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a simple, low-cost tool to help people quit smoking by reducing impulsive choices.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early pilot trial testing feasibility, not effectiveness. The intervention is behavioral and may not work for everyone; results may not apply to broader populations.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 134 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Sep 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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May 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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21 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
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).
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC
Roanoke, Virginia, 24015, United States
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