New brain imaging shows effects of withdrawal on smokers

New research highlighted at a symposium during an annual meeting for family physicians shows how nicotine withdrawal creates functional changes in the brains of smokers trying to quit causing cognitive performance deficits (such as ability to concentrate) that may make it more difficult to quit, and could be a driver of smoking relapse. Further, brain imaging technology shows that when treatment with the Commit® 4 mg nicotine lozenge is introduced, these symptoms of nicotine withdrawal can be reversed. This information is helping physicians better understand addiction and how treatment can help.

"The new research provides powerful new evidence as to why physicians need to intervene and help their patients understand and manage symptoms to help them quit successfully," said Dr. C. Everett Koop, former U.S. Surgeon General and driving force behind the 1988 Surgeon General's report entitled: The Health Consequences of Smoking: Nicotine Addiction. "Physicians should use these new data as reasons to speak with their patients to help them better understand their addiction, including the serious impact of withdrawal and how proven treatments can help reverse nicotine withdrawal symptoms that impact the brain."

Data from two similar studies were highlighted at the symposium. The studies reviewed the impact of nicotine withdrawal on the brain and demonstrated that the Commit 4 mg nicotine lozenge can significantly help reverse nicotine withdrawal symptoms associated with quitting smoking.

Specific areas in the brain, particularly those associated with executive functioning, are impacted during nicotine withdrawal. The Commit 4 mg nicotine lozenge significantly improved cognitive performance compared to placebo and lessened symptoms of withdrawal including craving, difficulty concentrating, irritability and restlessness.3 Other nicotine withdrawal symptoms including short-term memory deficit, and selective and divided attention deficits were also significantly reduced.

"In withdrawal, a smoker's brain is literally in dysfunction and this can impair the quitter's ability to think and act," said Dr. Jack Henningfield, Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Vice President of Research and Health Policy at Pinney Associates and consultant to GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Consumer Healthcare. "Research on the brain in withdrawal is important as it helps physicians and smokers trying to quit recognize and manage the symptoms. For smokers who experience withdrawal and can't afford lapse in concentration or judgement, FDA-approved medicines for smoking cessation such as the Commit 4 mg nicotine lozenge may make the difference between success and failure in their smoking cessation efforts."

Consistent with their FDA-approved labelling, therapeutic nicotine products are specifically designed to curb withdrawal symptoms by safely and gradually weaning a smoker off nicotine. The Commit 4 mg nicotine lozenge has shown in this research that it specifically improves symptoms of withdrawal including craving, difficulty concentrating, irritability and restlessness.