Anger Management–Based Smoking Cessation Treatment

Despite tremendous progress in tobacco control over the past 50 years, smoking continues to be the foremost preventable cause of disease and death in the United States and the majority of adults who smoke want to quit. Thus, continuing efforts, both clinical and research, must focus on new, effective methods to aid in smoking cessation. Anger management (AM) therapy for smoking cessation is one such approach. The experience of anger-related emotions (e.g., irritation, frustration, annoyance, hostility) is integrally linked to smoking behavior, nicotine withdrawal, and smoking relapse. Here, we present an innovative, AM-based smoking cessation therapy coupled with nicotine replacement therapy. The treatment experiences of three diverse clients are presented, and insights based on their pre- and posttherapy research assessments are discussed. The client outcomes suggest that AM-based smoking cessation is a promising therapy approach and is deserving of more research and study.

A Case Series of a Behavioral Activation−Enhanced Smoking Cessation Program for Inpatient Substance Users With Elevated Depressive Symptoms

Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death and disease in the world and represents a critical public health problem. Smokers with substance use disorders and depressive symptoms have particular difficulties quitting smoking and represent an underserved population. The current study utilized a novel behavioral activation (BA)−enhanced smoking cessation treatment with three clients in residential substance use treatment who had elevated depressive symptoms. We present detailed descriptions of the treatment they received and the challenges they faced. Our clients, who received five individual BA-enhanced smoking cessation sessions and two follow-up booster sessions, benefited significantly from the BA treatment. Over an 8-week follow-up period, they did not relapse to smoking and experienced significant decreases in depressive symptoms. This suggests BA may be a beneficial treatment strategy for this particularly challenging population.