And depressed smokers are less likely to stop smoking. So the drug might be removing a psychological barrier to quitting. Researchers are studying whether other antidepressant drugs have the same effect. And a skin patch that combines nicotine with the drug mecamylamine, which may reduce smoking satisfaction, is being developed. Extra help needed Smoking is a habit as well as an addiction.
Smokers closely associate it with finishing a meal, driving a car or having a drink.
Most smokers need coping skills to overcome that urge for a cigarette. While many smokers try to quit on their own, experts recommend smoking cessation classes. At the Midwest Research Institute in Kansas City, psychologists are focusing on how best to use breathing exercises, which many smoking cessation programs recommend. MRI researchers have found that smokers trying to quit are particularly likely to relapse when they're excitable and playful, such as when they're out drinking, or when they are upset. Cook and collaborator Mary Gerkovich trained 130 smokers to recognize when they were in these states and to use different breathing techniques as alternatives to smoking.