A Pilot Study of Smoking Cessation within an Iranian Addiction Recovery Community

ABSTRACTTobacco dependence is ubiquitous among people seeking treatment for other substance use disorders, compromises recovery outcomes, and elevates long-term morbidity and mortality of people recovering from other addictions. The present study (1) identifies the organizational and personal motivators for smoking cessation within a recovery community (Congress 60) in the Islamic Republic of Iran, (2) describes a novel method of smoking cessation that combines prolonged nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) with a broad spectrum of psychosocial supports to achieve sustained smoking cessation and improved health and quality of life (HQoL), and (3) presents preliminary follow-up data on the first 100 individuals who participated in this pilot effort. The high retention rate, low reported nicotine cravings during and following NRT, high one-year post-NRT abstinence rates, and reported improvements in HQoL of study participants warrant further evaluation and potential replication of the smoking cessation method...