VR game helps addicts quit smoking

Game addiction might be a hot topic at the moment, but researchers at the University of Georgia are hoping a specially designed virtual reality game can help people get over a much more prevalent addiction: smoking.

Patients in the study don a ridiculous looking VR headset and are placed in simulations of situations where they might be tempted to smoke, like a party full of other smokers or a tight traffic jam. With the help of a therapist, the smoker gradually learns how to handle these situations without lighting up.

Does it work? One elderly smoker interviewed for the story had failed to quit with the patch and medications, but after the VR sessions found she could "be in a room with four or five people smoking and I don't light up." We have the opposite problem -- after years of playing Mario, it's hard for us to be in a room full of turtles without feeling the need to jump on their backs over and over.

via joystiq

Let's see if it will work when it is made.