Smoking cessation
Etiology of smoking
Tobacco smoking as self-medication
Treatment
Counseling
Recording smoking status as a vital sign increases the frequency of brief advice to patients by physicians.[1]
Demonstration of damage to lungs
In general, informing patients of their lung function as measured by spirometry does not increase smoking cession according to a systematic review by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF).[2] However, in a more recent randomized controlled trial, patients in the group who were informed of their 'lung age' were more likely to stop smoking.[3] However, in this trial, "People with worse spirometric lung age were no more likely to have quit than those with normal lung age in either group".[3]
Medications
Rimonabant
Rimonabant, a selective type 1 cannabinoid (CB1) receptor antagonist, improves smoking cessation and moderate weight gain associated with smoking cessation according to a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials by the Cochrane Collaboration.[4] However, "there is current concern (August 2007) over rates of depression and suicidal thoughts in people taking rimonabant for weight control."[4]
Atomoxetine
Addiction is reinforced by the fear of experiencing the adverse effects associated with the cessation of the drug. Smoking withdrawal causes cognitive deficits analogous to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, an observation which prompted researchers to test the hypothesis that drugs that ameliorate ADHD facilitate smoking cessation. In confirmation of this hypothesis, it was shown that atomoxetine, a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor that is approved by the FDA to treat the symptoms of ADHD, dose-dependently reversed congnitive deficits in an animal model of nicotine withdrawal.[5] Atomoxetine is not indicated at this time as a medication to treat the ADHD-like symptoms of smoking cessation.
References
- ↑ Rothemich SF, Woolf SH, Johnson RE, et al (2008). "Effect on cessation counseling of documenting smoking status as a routine vital sign: an ACORN study". Ann Fam Med 6 (1): 60-8. DOI:10.1370/afm.750. PMID 18195316. Research Blogging.
- ↑ Lin K, Watkins B, Johnson T, Rodriguez JA, Barton MB (2008). "Screening for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Using Spirometry: Summary of the Evidence for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force". Ann. Intern. Med.. PMID 18316746. [e]
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Parkes G, Greenhalgh T, Griffin M, Dent R (2008). "Effect on smoking quit rate of telling patients their lung age: the Step2quit randomised controlled trial". BMJ. DOI:10.1136/bmj.39503.582396.25. PMID 18326503. Research Blogging.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Cahill K, Ussher M (2007). "Cannabinoid type 1 receptor antagonists (rimonabant) for smoking cessation". Cochrane Database Syst Rev (4): CD005353. DOI:10.1002/14651858.CD005353.pub3. PMID 17943852. Research Blogging.
- ↑ Davis JA, Gould TJ (September 2007). "Atomoxetine reverses nicotine withdrawal-associated deficits in contextual fear conditioning". Neuropsychopharmacology 32 (9): 2011–9. DOI:10.1038/sj.npp.1301315. PMID 17228337. Research Blogging.