ScienceDaily (July 14, 2010) —
Nicotine patches and gum are common -- and often ineffective -- ways of
fighting cigarette cravings, as most smokers have discovered. Now a new study
from Tel Aviv University shows why they're ineffective, and may provide the
basis for more successful psychologically-based smoking cessation programs.
In the new study published in the Journal
of Abnormal Psychology, Dr. Reuven Dar of Tel Aviv University's Department
of Psychology found that the intensity of cravings for cigarettes had more to do
with the psychosocial element of smoking than with the physiological effects of
nicotine as an addictive chemical.
"These findings might not be
popular with advocates of the nicotine addiction theory, because they undermine
the physiological role of nicotine and emphasize mind over matter when it comes
to smoking," Dr. Dar says. He hopes this research will help clinicians and
health authorities develop more successful smoking cessation programs than
those utilizing expensive nicotine patches or gum.
Up in the air
Dr. Dar and his colleagues'
conclusions are based on two landmark studies. In the most recent study, he and
his colleagues monitored the smoking behavior and craving levels of in-flight
attendants, both women and men, who worked at the Israeli airline El Al. Each
participant was monitored during two flights -- a long flight of 10 to 13 hours
in duration, from Tel Aviv to New York, for example; and a two-hop shorter trip
from Israel to Europe and back, each leg lasting three to five hours. Using a questionnaire,
he sampled craving levels of the attendants throughout the duration of their
flights.
Dr. Dar and his colleagues found
that the duration of the flight had no significant impact on craving levels,
which were similar for short and long flights. Moreover, craving levels at the
end of each short flight were much higher those at the end of the long flight,
demonstrating that cravings increased in anticipation of the flight landing,
whatever the flight's total duration. He concluded that the craving effect is
produced by psychological cues rather than by the physiological effects of
nicotine deprivation.
No smoking on the Sabbath
In an earlier 2005 study, Dr. Dar
examined smokers who were religious Jews, forbidden by their religion to smoke
on the Sabbath. He asked them about their smoking cravings on three separate
days: the Sabbath, a regular weekday, and a weekday on which they'd been asked
to abstain. Participants were interviewed at the end of each day about their
craving levels during that day.
What Dr. Dar found is that cravings
were very low on the morning of the Sabbath, when the smoker knew he would not
be able to smoke for at least 10 hours. Craving levels gradually increased at
the end of the Sabbath, when participants anticipated the first post-Sabbath
cigarette. Craving levels on the weekday on which these people smoked as much
as they wanted were just as high as on the day they abstained, showing that
craving has little to do with nicotine deprivation.
Dr. Dar's studies conclude that nicotine
is not addictive as physiological addictions are usually defined. While
nicotine does have a physiological role in increasing cognitive abilities such
as attention and memory, it's not an addictive substance like heroin, which
creates true systemic and biologically-based withdrawal symptoms in the body of
the user, he says.
Dr. Dar believes that people who
smoke do so for short-term benefits like oral gratification, sensory pleasure
and social camaraderie. Once the habit is established, people continue to smoke
in response to cues and in situations that become associated with smoking. Dr.
Dar believes that understanding smoking as a habit, not an addiction, will
facilitate treatment. Smoking cessation techniques should emphasize the
psychological and behavioral aspects of the habit and not the biological
aspects, he suggests.
Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by
American
Friends of Tel Aviv University.
American Friends of Tel Aviv
University (2010, July 14). Smoking mind over smoking matter: Surprising new
study shows cigarette cravings result from habit, not addiction. ScienceDaily.
Retrieved September 15, 2012, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2010/07/100713144920.htm
