New treatment for depressed smokers trying to quit
The paper, an extensive review of current research, offers a much deeper understanding of why nicotine withdrawal symptoms for people with depression make it much more difficult to quit smoking. The paper was published in the international journal Addiction . "We've used this new theory of withdrawal in depressed smokers to develop the first targeted approach for smoking cessation in this underserved population," said senior author Brian Hitsman, associate professor of preventive medicine and of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Depressed smokers experience adverse withdrawal states that contribute to resumption of smoking, including low mood, difficulty engaging in rewarding activities and impaired thinking/memory, the paper reports. These symptoms are more severe for people with depression than for those without depression. In addition, depressed smokers tend to have fewer ways to cope with the symptoms and ...