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The nicotine withdrawal syndrome
John Hughes
Abstract
Anger, anxiety, depression, difficulty concentrating, impatience, insomnia and restlessnes, craving, impaired performance and hunger/weight gain are valid withdrawal symptoms which peak within the first week and last 2-4 wks (except craving and hunger last longer). Constipation, cough, dizziness, increased dreaming and mouth ulcers may be withdrawal effects but require further study. New withdrawal scales and new statistical methods should improve the accuracy of withdrawal studies in humans. The most validated biological etiologies state withdrawal is due to decreased dopaminergic activity and genotype. The most validated environmental etiologies state withdrawal is due to expectancy and smoking cues. Significant withdrawal symptoms occur in at least one half of smokers when they try to quit. Increases in depression (and craving) after abstinence, but not other symptoms, prospectively predict relapse.
Biography
John R. Hughes, M.D. is Professor of Psychiatry, Psychology and Family Practice at the University of Vermont. Dr. Hughes is board certified in Psychiatry and Addiction Psychiatry. His major focus has been clinical research on tobacco use. Dr. Hughes received the Ove Ferno Award for research in nicotine dependence and the Alton Ochsner Award Relating Smoking and Health. He is a co-founder and past president of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco and the Association for the Treatment of Tobacco Use and Dependence.. Dr. Hughes has been Chair of the Vermont Tobacco Evaluation and Review Board which oversees VT's multi-million dollar tobacco control programs. He has over 300 publications on nicotine and other drug dependencies and is one of the top 25 most cited tobacco scientists. Dr. Hughes has been a consultant on tobacco policy to the World Health Organization, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the White House
Professor John Hughes
Dept of Psychiatry, Univ VT
38 Fletcher Pl
Burlington
VT
05401-1419
USA
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