Quit smoking

BACKGROUND: Cigarette cravings following exposure to smoking cues in a smoker's environment are thought to play an important role in cessation failure. The possibility that dispositional factors may impact cue-induced cravings, though intriguing, has received little attention. According to Cloninger's Tridimensional Personality Theory, factors such as reward dependence (RD), harm avoidance (HA), and novelty seeking (NS) may figure prominently in risk for addiction, as well as relapse, in individuals attempting to abstain from drug and alcohol use...

This study used ecological momentary assessment data from adult daily smokers attempting to quit smoking to assess relations between exposure to contextual risk factors and cessation failure, latency to a first smoking lapse, or progression from lapse to relapse (smoking 7 days in a row). Participants were adult, daily smokers enrolled in a randomized controlled clinical trial of bupropion SR and individual counseling who were followed to 1 year postquit. Participants reported exposure to high-risk contexts and behaviors, including being where cigarettes were available or smoking was permitted, being around others smoking in prospective, real-time assessment for 2 weeks pre- and 4 weeks postquit...

Planning before quitting smoking is widely believed to be beneficial and is usually recommended in cessation counseling, but there is little evidence on the efficacy of specific planning activities. Using data from 1140 respondents who reported quit attempts at Wave 8 of the ITC 4-Country Survey, we analyzed use of 8 specific planning strategies before (5) and after (3) implementation of a quit attempt, in relation to cessation outcomes, delay in implementation of the attempt, and recent quitting history. Most participants reported some planning both before and after quitting, even among those reporting quitting 'spontaneously...

BACKGROUND: The SNAP (Smoking and Nicotine in Pregnancy) trial compared nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) patches with placebo in pregnant smokers; although NRT doubled cessation rates in the first 4 weeks, by delivery no differences in maternal smoking or birth outcomes were noted. As a result, NRT used in standard doses during pregnancy is considered ineffective for smoking cessation. Subsequent effects of NRT on the children of treated mothers are unknown because no trials have investigated the effect of gestational NRT use beyond birth...

Tobacco smoke is the leading cause of preventable premature death worldwide. While the majority of smokers would like to stop, the habitual and addictive nature of smoking makes cessation difficult. Clinical guidelines suggest that smoking cessation interventions should include both behavioural support and pharmacotherapy (e.g. nicotine replacement therapy). This commentary paper focuses on the important role of behavioural interventions in encouraging and supporting smoking cessation attempts. Recent developments in the field are discussed, including 'cut-down to quit', the behaviour change techniques taxonomy (BCTT) and very brief advice (VBA) on smoking...

The high comorbidity between major depressive disorder (MDD) and nicotine dependence (ND) is well recognized. Patients with comorbid MDD and ND often have increased suicidal risk and poor outcomes. A dysfunctional dopaminergic brain reward system might be a neurobiological link between MDD and ND. Aripiprazole has been considered as a dopamine stabilizer and was the first atypical antipsychotic agent approved by the US Food and Drug Administration as an adjunctive to the treatment of unipolar MDD. Bupropion is well known as a dual norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitor, and has been shown to be effective in smoking cessation...

Introduction. Smokeless tobacco is considered one of the major risk factors for oral cancer. It is estimated that over 90% of the global smokeless tobacco use burden is in South Asia. This paper aims to systematically review publications reporting epidemiological observational studies published in South Asia from 1984 till 2013. Methods. An electronic search in "Medline" and "ISI Web of Knowledge" yielded 734 publications out of which 21 were included in this review. All publications were assessed for quality using a standard quality assessment tool...

BACKGROUND: Smartphone use is growing worldwide. While hundreds of smoking cessation apps are currently available in the app stores, there is no information about who uses them. Smartphones also offer potential as a research tool, but this has not previously been explored. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to measure and compare the uptake of a smoking cessation app over one year in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It also assesses the feasibility of conducting research via an app, describing respondents' characteristics (demographics, smoking status, and other health related app use), and examining differences across countries...

BACKGROUND: Mobile technology offers the potential to deliver health-related interventions to individuals who would not otherwise present for in-person treatment. Text messaging (short message service, SMS), being the most ubiquitous form of mobile communication, is a promising method for reaching the most individuals. OBJECTIVE: The goal of the present study was to evaluate the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a smoking cessation intervention program delivered through text messaging...

BACKGROUND: Smoking is detrimental to recovery and survival from cancer, but many cancer survivors continue to smoke. Information is lacking on smoking patterns of survivors many years after diagnosis and correlates of smoking status and patterns, likelihood of quitting, and intentions to quit. METHODS: Cross-sectional analyses were conducted among survivors of 10 cancers recruited by stratified random sampling from cancer registries in a nationwide, longitudinal, quality-of-life study (n = 2,938)...

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Quitline use can prompt quit attempts and promote abstinence among smokers, but rates of use are low and outcomes of brief quitline referrals unclear. In this study, a brief intervention was delivered to smokers who expressed motivation to quit in the next 30 days (N = 221) to encourage use of their state quitline. Correlates of quitline use were examined, and quitline callers versus non-callers were compared on the following outcomes at 2-month follow-up: cessation medication use, quit attempts and abstinence...

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether smokers' physical activity is related to weight change following a quit attempt. METHOD: Data were analyzed for participants (n=683) of a randomized controlled trial comparing the efficacy of different smoking cessation pharmacotherapies (Wisconsin, 2005-2008). Activity (assessed via pedometry) and body weight were measured in the days surrounding the quit day and again one year later, at which time 7-day point-prevalence abstinence from smoking was assessed...

Although cardiovascular risks decrease after quitting smoking, body weight often increases in the early period after smoking cessation. We have previously reported that the serum level of the α1-antitrypsin-low-density lipoprotein complex (AT-LDL)-an oxidatively modified low-density lipoprotein that accelerates atherosclerosis-is high in current smokers, and that the level rapidly decreases after smoking cessation. However, the effects of weight gain after smoking cessation on this cardiovascular marker are unknown...

BACKGROUND: There is a dual need for (1) innovative theory-based smartphone applications for smoking cessation and (2) controlled trials to evaluate their efficacy. Accordingly, this study tested the feasibility, acceptability, preliminary efficacy, and mechanism of behavioral change of an innovative smartphone-delivered acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) application for smoking cessation vs. an application following US Clinical Practice Guidelines. METHOD: Adult participants were recruited nationally into the double-blind randomized controlled pilot trial (n=196) that compared smartphone-delivered ACT for smoking cessation application (SmartQuit) with the National Cancer Institute's application for smoking cessation (QuitGuide)...

Smoking is a leading preventable cause of mortality and morbidity. Varenicline, a first-line smoking cessation aid, is used widely to achieve successful quit rates in smokers. A number of studies and systematic reviews have evaluated the safety profile of the drug. To date, three systematic reviews by Singh and colleagues, Prochaska and Hilton, and Ware and colleagues, published between 2011 and 2013, have evaluated serious cardiovascular adverse events with varenicline use. Even though all three reviews demonstrated that serious cardiovascular adverse events were nominally more frequent in varenicline-treated patients when compared with placebo, a significantly increased event rate was found only in the review by Singh and colleagues...

INTRODUCTION: Not all smokers receive tobacco cessation advice from health care providers (HCPs) and, although factors associated with receiving HCP advice to quit smoking and the effectiveness of such advice have been examined, no recent study has explored differences between types of HCPs (eg, physicians vs dentists). Our objective was to determine the prevalence of HCP-delivered advice and the characteristics of patients who receive advice to quit smoking from any HCP and, separately, from a physician or a dentist...

AIMS: We reviewed available research on the use, content and safety of electronic cigarettes (EC), and on their effects on users, to assess their potential for harm or benefit and to extract evidence that can guide future policy. METHODS: Studies were identified by systematic database searches and screening references to February 2014. RESULTS: EC aerosol can contain some of the toxicants present in tobacco smoke, but at levels which are much lower...

OBJECTIVE: Virtually no clinical trials for smoking cessation have been undertaken in bipolar disorder. Varenicline has shown efficacy for smoking cessation, but warnings about neuropsychiatric adverse events have been issued. We assessed the efficacy and safety of varenicline in euthymic bipolar subjects motivated to quit smoking. METHOD: Clinically stable adult patients with DSM-IV bipolar disorder (n = 60) who smoked ≥ 10 cigarettes per day were randomized to a 3-month, double-blind, placebo-controlled varenicline trial and a 3-month follow-up...

IMPORTANCE: Behavioral approaches and pharmacotherapy are of proven benefit in assisting smokers to quit, but it is unclear whether combining nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) with varenicline to improve abstinence is effective and safe. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of combining varenicline and a nicotine patch vs varenicline alone in smoking cessation. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial with a 12-week treatment period and a further 12-week follow-up conducted in 7 centers in South Africa from April 2011 to October 2012...