'Extinction therapy' could help smokers kick habit, study suggests

Technique aims to help smokers 'unlearn' associations that drive addiction by exposing them to triggers, such as footage of people smoking

It sounds like torment for the smoker attempting to quit: handling packets of cigarettes and watching footage of people smoking, without being allowed to light up.

However, scientists believe that lengthy exposure to environmental triggers for cravings could be precisely what smokers need to help them quit. The technique, known as extinction therapy, targets the harmful Pavlovian associations that drive addiction with the aim of rapidly "unlearning" them.