Cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of death and disability in the US. Although smoking has declined since 1964, it is still very common among some groups of people. One such group is persons with emotional symptoms and disorders (e.g., anxiety/depression). There has been little success in developing smoking cessation treatment for smokers with emotional disorders. Recent work suggests that being sensitive to, and less tolerant of, stress is associated with affective disturbances, most commonly anxiety and depression. Also, people with higher levels of anxiety or depression report stronger beliefs that smoking will reduce negative feelings. They also report having a harder t...

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Cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of death and disability in the US. Although smoking has declined since 1964, it is still very common among some groups of people. One such group is persons with emotional symptoms and disorders (e.g., anxiety/depression). There has been little success in developing smoking cessation treatment for smokers with emotional disorders. Recent work suggests that being sensitive to, and less tolerant of, stress is associated with affective disturbances, most commonly anxiety and depression. Also, people with higher levels of anxiety or depression report stronger beliefs that smoking will reduce negative feelings. They also report having a harder time quitting and in fact, are less successful at doing so. Together, this results in individuals with emotional disorders being more vulnerable to start smoking and to have greater difficulty quitting once they start. This clinical trial will evaluate a treatment that integrates anxiety/depression treatment to standard smoking cessation treatment for smokers with anxiety/depression. It builds directly from our recent work and we now seek to adapt it to a more accessible, sustainable, and disseminable treatment approach. Results will provide important information on the benefit of an integrated intervention that could be used in the community for smokers at great risk for relapse and who do not benefit from existing treatments. This study is the first to test an intervention for anxious/depressed smokers and has the potential to help at-risk individuals experience quitting success, and ultimately, reduce the burden of tobacco-related cancers in Texas.

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