Impact of a Naturalistic Psychedelic Experience on Smoking: A Retrospective Survey.
Bruno Romeo, Baptiste Fauvel, S Dejean, L Strika, Ammar Amirouche, Vincent Verroust, Pascale Piolino, Amine Benyamina
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 2023 DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2023.2227171 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Retrospective survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 173 |
| Population | Individuals who reported having a psychedelic experience while being smokers |
| Intervention | psychedelic experience |
| Topics | Addiction |
| Keywords | Psychedelic Psychological flexibility Smoking Tobacco use disorder |
| Citations | 14 |
| Key findings | A psychedelic experience in natural contexts is associated with reduced smoking and tobacco dependency, with mystical experience intensity, personal motives, and increased psychological flexibility predicting reduction or cessation. |
Abstract
Tobacco use disorder is a major public health concern. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of a psychedelic experience in a natural context on tobacco use. A retrospective online survey was conducted on 173 individuals who reported having had a psychedelic experience while being smokers. Demographic information was collected, and characteristics of the psychedelic experience, tobacco addiction and psychological flexibility were assessed. Mean number of cigarettes smoked per day, and proportion of individuals with high tobacco dependency significantly decreased between the three time points (p < .001). Participants who reduced or quit smoking had more intense mystical experiences during the psychedelic session (p = .01) and lower psychological flexibility before the psychedelic experience (p = .018). The increase in psychological flexibility post psychedelic session, and the personal motives for the psychedelic experience were significant positive predictors of smoking reduction or cessation (p < .001). Our results confirmed that a psychedelic experience in smoker individuals can be associated with smoking and tobacco dependency reduction and that the personal motives for the psychedelic session, the intensity of the mystical experience, and the increase of psychological flexibility following the psychedelic experience, are associated with smoking cessation or reduction.