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NCT Number: NCT07292883

Accelerated dTMS Smoking Cessation

The goal of this clinical trial is to examine whether a 5-day course of bilateral accelerated deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (aTMS) is a feasible treatment to help adults (18-65) with Tobacco Use Disorder to quit smoking. This study aims to enroll 30-40 participants and will examine treatment tolerability, treatment acceptability, participant retention, and adherence to scheduled treatment sessions.

There are two key objectives and hypotheses:

Objective 1: To evaluate whether a 1-week course of bilateral aTMS (4 sessions per day for 5 days) is feasible and tolerable as a smoking cessation treatment.

Hypothesis 1: Feasibility will be demonstrated by acceptable tolerability, acceptability, retention, and adherence, with a practical target of 30 out of 40 participants completing the treatment.

Objective 2: To explore how aTMS affects smoking outcomes, including:

* Point-prevalence abstinence at end of treatment and at Weeks 3, 5, and 9. * Prolonged/continuous abstinence at Weeks 13 and 26. * Craving, cigarettes per day, and dependence severity. Hypothesis 2: Participants will show improvements on these outcomes from post-treatment through follow-up.

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Key information

Conditions

Tobacco Use Disorder Addiction Nicotine Behavior Behavior, Addictive Chemically-Induced Disorders Compulsive Behavior Health Behavior Impulsive Behavior Mental Disorders Smoking Cessation Substance-Related Disorders

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Phase 2

Primary location

Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care, Penetanguishene, Ontario, Canada

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Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Aged 18 years or older;
  • Tobacco use disorder as assessed by DSM-5;
  • Fagerstrom Test of Nicotine Dependence (FTND) ≥ 4;
  • Reported motivation to quit within 30 days as assessed using the Contemplation Ladder score of ≥ 7;
  • Must sign and date the informed consent form;
  • Stated willingness to comply with all study procedures.
  • Able to communicate in English.

Exclusion criteria

  • Reported smoking abstinence in the 3 months preceding screening visit;
  • Current use of other smoking cessation aids;
  • Contraindication to rTMS;
  • Pregnancy, trying to become pregnant or breastfeeding;
  • Current or recent history of cerebrovascular disease;
  • Unstable major psychiatric disorder(s) (i.e. Axis I Disorders) that would prevent participation in the study at PI (or its delegate) discretion;
  • Serious current or personal history of medical condition/disease (neurological disorders, brain lesions, multiple sclerosis, head trauma, loss of consciousness, hearing loss, etc.) preventing same inclusion as per PI (or its delegate) discretion;
  • Current, personal history or family history of seizures;
  • Concomitant use of medication that lowers seizure threshold, such as clozapine;
  • Concomitant use of more than 2 mg lorazepam (or an equivalent) or any anticonvulsants.

Treatment and study plan

Bilateral deep accelerated repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation

Device

Accelerated Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (aTMS) is a type of treatment that will be used to target the bilateral insular cortex and prefrontal cortex using the Health Canada-approved H4 coil. The purpose is to test its feasibility on smoking abstinence. While convention rTMS methods involves one session daily over several weeks, aTMS delivers multiple sessions per day. Using the H4 deep aTMS, this study will implement 20 sessions over five consecutive days (four sessions daily).

Other names: Deep TMS, Accelerated TMS, Repetitive TMS

Primary outcomes

  1. Percentage of Participants Who Discontinue Accelerated dTMS Due to Side Effects

    Time frame: From week 1 day 1, to week 1 day 5 of treatment week.

    Tolerability will be assessed by calculating the percentage of participants who discontinue the 5-day accelerated dTMS treatment course due to side effects.

  2. TMS Experience Questionnaire Acceptability Scores (Units on a Scale)

    Time frame: From week 1 day 1, to week 1 day 5 of treatment week.

    Acceptability will be assessed using scores on the TMS Experience Questionnaire.

  3. Percentage of Participants Completing the 5-day Accelerated dTMS Treatment Course

    Time frame: From week 1 day 1, to week 5 day 5 of treatment week.

    Retention will be measured by the percentage of enrolled participants who complete the full 5-day accelerated dTMS treatment protocol (4 sessions per day for 5 days). The aim is 30 out of 40 participants (75%) completing the course.

  4. Percentage of Treatment Sessions Attended

    Time frame: From week 1 day 1, to week 1 day 5 of treatment week.

    Adherence will be measured by calculating the percentages of planned accelerated dTMS treatment sessions attended (20 sessions total over 5 days). For each participant, adherence will be calculated as number of sessions attended divided by 20, and then calculating a mean percentage.

Secondary outcomes

  1. The percentage of participants achieving continuous short-term abstinence at follow up

    Time frame: From week 1 day 5 of treatment to week 26.

    Measuring the percentage of participants who achieved 7-day point prevalence abstinence at the end of treatment, week 3, week 5, week 9, week, 13, week 26.

  2. The percentage of participants achieving continuous long-term abstinence at follow up

    Time frame: From week 1 day 1 of treatment to week 26.

    Calculating the percentage of participants who achieved prolonged and continuous absence at week 13 (3 months) and week 26 (6 months).

  3. Change in Tobacco Craving Questionnaire-Short Form (TCQ-SF) Total Score (Units on a Scale)

    Time frame: From baseline to week 26.

    This outcome will examine changes in self-reported cravings using the TCQ-SF. TCQ-SF total scores will be compared from baseline to the end of treatment (week 26) and across follow-up visits (week 3, 5, 9, 13, 26).

  4. Change in Dependence Severity (Units on a Scale)

    Time frame: From baseline to week 26.

    This outcome will examine changes in nicotine dependence severity from baseline to the end of treatment (week 26) and during follow-up visits (week 3, 5, 9, 13) using the Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND).

  5. Change in Daily Cigarette Use (Number of Cigarettes per Day)

    Time frame: From baseline to week 26.

    This outcome will examine changes in self-reported cigarette consumption using the Timeline Follow Back method from baseline through follow-ups (week 3, 5, 9, 13) to the end of the study (week 26).

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Florence Tang, MA

CONTACT

[email protected]

705-549-3181 ext. 3040

Vincent Wang, MD

CONTACT

[email protected]

647-522-3415

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Accelerated Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Smoking Cessation

Important dates

Study start
2026
Primary completion
2028
Study completion
2028
First posted
Dec 18, 2025
Registry last updated
Apr 21, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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