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Tobacco use among active-duty military personnel is almost double what it is in the civilian population, and while smoking has decreased overall in the U.S., it's been on the rise in the military since 2002. To change that, the Department of Defense (DoD) is looking to…videogames?

The government agency has awarded researchers at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston a $3.7 million grant create a video game that will deter soldiers from smoking and help those who already do to quit.

"The video game in general is becoming more popular among researchers who want to deliver a health message to a target audience," says Alexander Prokhorov, a professor of behavioral science at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson, who will lead the work. Video games are also being used to teach people about nutrition, asthma and other health-related issues, he notes.

Prokhorov, in partnership with the DoD and Radiant Creative, Inc. in Houston, already developed a similar anti-smoking game for at-risk youth called Escape With Your Life, which is customizable to age, gender, ethnic background and tobacco use and includes user-created avatars.

"I think that the major advantage of this game [is that it] allows [players] to maintain interest," says Prokhorov, noting that traditional anti-smoking approaches have a passive audience that can easily tune out. Tests of Escape With Your Life found that more than 90 percent of participants reported learning a lot about tobacco they didn't previously know.

But isn't changing knowledge a lot easier than changing behavior?

"It changes the depth of knowledge, and deep knowledge is very different from the superficial knowledge that most smokers have," Prokhorov says. Escape With Your Life takes users through, what he calls, "a pretty scary hospital." To escape and earn points, players must venture through different rooms – from radiology to accounting – where they get tips and motivation but also learn the true physical, financial and even environmental costs of lighting up. And "that's a huge, huge discovery for them," Prokhorov notes.

He says that more than half of the 239 young smokers (ages 15 to 19) in a preliminary study reported quitting after using the game. "As a tobacco researcher," he says, "that's unprecedented."

The new game will be designed specifically for military users and, like Escape With Your Life, will be in a standard-looking video game kiosk to appeal to potential players even in their leisure time.

Aside from the health and economic downsides that civilians face, tobacco-using military personnel encounter other risks. Among them, according to DoD's anti-tobacco Web site: a decrease in night vision, slower injury recovery time, and poorer endurance. The site also warns that smoking makes "you stink. You can't hide from enemy forces if they can smell you a block away."

Prokhorov hopes to have a model ready for testing at Fort Hood in Texas by 2011 and a finished product for mass distribution available by 2013. Eventually he hopes to be able to put it online as well.

"Once they try it," he says of the Escape With Your Life game, "they discover there's absolutely nothing boring about it."

Top image of Prokhorov and the Escape With Your Life game and second image of personalized player screen for game both courstesy of M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

14 Comments

1. 1. JamesDavis 08:45 AM 4/18/09

   That video game is worthless, dangerous and a waste of money. There is no place for it in the military. Soldiers smoke because it elevates stress and anxieties. There is a lot of stress and anxiety in war. Soldiers also smoke because it takes their mind from missing their loved ones they left back home. When you are pinned down, sometimes for days, a cigarette allows you to come to terms with the death and destruction that surrounds you. Do not allow non military idiots endanger our soldiers any more than they are already endangered by taking away something that comforts them when they needs comforting the most. Save this stupid s--- until they are out of the military and then make it part of their recovery therapy.

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2. 2. krabcat in reply to JamesDavis 11:43 AM 4/18/09

   the information should at least be their. video games(the right kinds atl east) could also alleviate stress and take their minds off of the situation temporarily, they increase night vision, hand-eye coordination and on-the-spot problem solving. on the other hand when you are pined down, video games are not much of an option.

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3. 3. proadventurer 11:46 AM 4/18/09

   JamesDavis: you clearly have feelings on the issue and I am guessing you smoke and don't want anyone telling you to stop. Hey, that's ok. I was in the infantry and, well I don't smoke/ However, I totally agree with you at least that this video game is useless and a huge waste of money. Why not give $200 to every soldier that quits smoking for 6 months? OR something more useful.

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4. 4. sciencefan 05:03 PM 4/18/09

   Anything that will keep young people from using tobacco is valuable. Tobacco-related illness imposes a huge burden on individuals, families and society as a whole. The costs related to its addiction are immeasurable. The work this doctor is doing is addressing a long-term health crisis in a susceptible group of young people. Compromising one's health for the sake of stress relief (cigarettes, by the way, are considered stimulants so their capacity to relieve stress is a myth), is foolish, no matter the tool involved, be it alcohol, promiscuity, drug use or other risky behaviors. Many a young soldier became hooked on tobacco when the military thought it okay to include cigarettes in their rations. Those days are long over, but the damage for many was done. Some 30 percent of cancers are linked to smoking so I commend this man for leading the crusade and give the DoD credit for trying to reduce or eliminate the use of tobacco amongst troops.

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5. 5. ricktoffer 06:40 PM 4/18/09

   Are they going to make a video game of the real dangers of military life like the dangerous chemicals the military exposes on troops and sailors for example, angent orange, depleated uranium, jet fuels , non skid paints and many other chemicals including vaccines they have to take. A game of the hazards of working on a flight deck of a carrier would be good to. Here is another good game what is hidden in their food all the chemicals they put in food is just as dangerous as tobacco. Here is another one guess whats in your water? Then you can make a game of How much radiation is good for you from microwave, radar, sonar, and other devices the military uses.
   Of course they have many games on the dangers of lead when bullet are being fired at you,hint wars caused by moronic elite of society.

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6. 6. sciencefan in reply to ricktoffer 10:51 PM 4/18/09

   If you aren't interested in exposure to all of the hazards you mention, ricktoffer, then joining the military isn't for you. Basically, if you don't die while you're serving, you're eventually damn near certain to from cigarettes. Why would you want to cheat death only to kill yourself from a preventable addiction?

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7. 7. Quasimodo 03:43 AM 4/19/09

   "Prokhorov hopes to have a model ready for testing at Fort Hood in Texas by 2011 and a finished product for mass distribution available by 2013. "
   
   That's way too damned long! They ought to have the game out by the end of THIS year! They're wasting that 3.7 million on sitting around. Shame on 'em.

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8. 8. kagisora 03:47 AM 4/20/09

   I agree with the article that games are a great way to teach people, but they might want to consider hiring some professional developers;
   while 3.7 million is way below what a major game costs to create these days (Crysis cost about $30 million), it should still be enough to create something people would want to play.
   If the screenshot shown in the article is the way the game is supposed to look, they may want to rethink what they're doing IMO. In a game meant for learning, people learn better when they enjoy what they are playing, I would think; the game in the screenshot just seems targeted at kids of about 12, instead of soldiers age 19 and up
   
   

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9. 9. Ecosse-Slainte! 12:25 PM 4/20/09

   Great news! I counsel/treat for tobacco/smoking cessation.. this would be a huge help! Ages 12 to 20 need action videos to capture interest..prevention is always worth a pound of cure.
   Looking forward to its release beyond the military... and sooner!
   
   

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10. 10. powerpuff69 in reply to kagisora 04:59 PM 4/21/09

    The photo is of the game already in use that was aimed at teens. Did you even read the article?

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11. 11. Catch 22 02:25 PM 4/23/09

    So violent video games do not promote violence, but non-smoking video games promote non-smoking?

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12. 12. Catch 22 02:26 PM 4/23/09

    So violent video games do not promote violence, but non-smoking video games promote non-smoking?

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13. 13. echo3miller in reply to JamesDavis 10:27 PM 5/2/09

    Im a US Marine, and though i dont smoke, i use chewing tobacco. it stimulates blood flow, which helps keep you awake while standing post or sitting in class. Instead of trying to get me to stop using something I enjoy, and well as something that helps me, how about you take that 3.7 million dollars and get me some gear that works.

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14. 14. usaforwarding 11:09 PM 6/13/11

    This is one expensive video game! I was in the military and believe that smoking has no place in the military. It hurts the health of a soldier, let alone it has given away very good fighting positions. It's like big lighthouse, shining through the dark night. Let alone, I could always smell when someone smoking has been around an area recently.
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