Penn Quit for
Health Seeks Smokers
September / October 2002
To learn whether smoking cessation treatments can be tailored
to a person's genetic make-up, researchers at the Abramson
Family Center Research Institute Transdisciplinary Tobacco
Research Center at the University of Pennsylvania are studying
smokers' responses to two commonly prescribed pharmaceutical
aids.
Smokers ages 18-65 are currently being enrolled in a free
research program known as Quit for Health. Eligible participants
will receive free nicotine replacement therapy - either the
nicotine patch or nicotine nasal spray - and attend seven
group-counseling sessions that employ the latest and most
effective techniques to quit smoking. The counseling sessions
are held at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
"By increasing our understanding of the role of genetic
factors in tobacco use and dependence, we hope to discover
better ways to prevent smoking and to help people quit," says
Caryn Lerman, PhD, primary investigator of the study, associate
director for cancer control and population science at the
Abramson Cancer Center.
Almost 24 percent of Philadelphia adults were cigarette
smokers in 2000, according to the latest figures from the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Of these
adults, more than 48 percent reported having tried to quit
smoking for at least one day in the past year. Research indicates
that smokers who use medications in addition to counseling
can double or triple their chances for successfully quitting.
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