Collecting data via smart phones has extended research on drug cues from tightly controlled lab experiments to being able to track exposure to drug cues in real time.
In an invited JAMA Network commentary by UW-CTRI authors Dr. Megan Piper and Dr. Jen Betts, they pointed out that Muzekari et al. (2025) helped readers understand the link between tobacco retailers and tobacco ads at one point in time, and cigarette craving and smoking in the following hour. However, the study falls short of establishing causality between the density of tobacco retailers, craving, and the amount smoked within the hour, Betts said.
However, the study did use novel geolocation technology to show that the high density of tobacco retailers in low-resourced neighborhoods may perpetuate smoking-related costs to human health, financial health and society.