Study on smoking cessation by veterans with PTSD closes successful enrollment

tobacco cessation - military veterans
Dr. Jessica Cook

A team of UW Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention (UW CTRI) researchers has completed enrollment of a study at the Veterans Administration (VA), enrolling 122 Veterans. The effort is led by Jessica Cook, PhD, associate professor, General Internal Medicine and UW CTRI. 

The study is investigating behavioral activation therapy as an approach for Veterans living with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who smoke. Investigators think the therapy might help both with quit-smoking efforts and to alleviate some PTSD symptoms. 

“Preliminary analysis of the data suggests that Veterans in this study are quitting at a fairly high quit rate relative to other cessation studies of Veterans with PTSD, and it’s possible that treatment intensity is what works for these patients. Veterans in the study receive eight one-hour, face-to-face sessions," said Dr. Cook.

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Photo (top): public domain image courtesy of the U.S. Air Force. Credit: Senior Airman Anthony Sanchelli