Cigarettes & Psychoses: Intervention Works

The results of a study recently published in the American Journal of Psychiatry indicate that completion of a smoking intervention has long-term efficacy in reducing cigarette use in patients with psychotic disorders. Smokers were randomized to either a “routine care comparison condition” or an 8-session intervention consisting of nicotine replacement therapy, motivational interviewing, and cognitive behavioral therapy. Although smoking abstinence rates varied little between the treatment and comparison groups, smokers who completed all sessions in either group were significantly more likely to have stopped smoking at follow-up compared to those who did not complete all sessions: 3 months, 30% versus 6%; 6 months, 18.6% versus 4%; and 12 months, 18.6% versus 6.6%. http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/163/11/1934

-LS