Research

Nicotine creates stronger memories, cues to drug use
New research suggests that the nicotine in cigarettes may cause the brain to create links between environmental cues and the behavior of smoking. In the study, mice that were exposed to nicotine demonstrated brain activity in the hippocampus, an area responsible for creating new memories. Subsequently, the mice learned to change their behavior so that they would receive nicotine, rather than an inert saline solution. One of the researchers explained that environmental cues frequently guide people’s behavior, but nicotine causes smokers to create memories of smoking as a positive habit. Click here for more details. The findings appear here in the journal Neuron.

Individual, social-normative, and policy predictors of smoking cessation: A multilevel longitudinal analysis.
In a recent study, researchers assessed the impact of individual, social-normative, and policy predictors of quit attempts and smoking cessation among Massachusetts adults. The data showed that household smoking bans were the only policy associated with abstinence, but smoking bans at one's worksite were significant predictors of quit attempts. Strong anti-smoking social norms were found to facilitate smoking cessation. Click here to read the abstract of the research, which was published in the American Journal of Public Health.

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Reports

Oklahoma smokers willing to try to quit, diet concurrently (OK)
Preliminary results from a survey of two thousand Oklahoman smokers using the state tobacco helpline indicate that smokers are interested in getting help quitting smoking and losing weight at the same time. According to a member of the research team, weight gain may be a concern because smokers gain five to ten pounds on average when quitting, and the study data suggest that obesity is prevalent among smokers in Oklahoma. Eighty percent of study participants were overweight or obese, and a majority of respondents reported not being physically active. The study was conducted by the Oklahoma Tobacco Research Center with funding from the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust Fund. Read more here.

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