Healthcare plan for anxiety disorders may help people quit smoking

Establishing a healthcare plan to treat anxiety disorders may be the key to helping many people quit smoking, new research has suggested.

Scientists at the University of Wisconsin Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention offered free coaching and medications to US smokers to help them kick the habit.

Published in the journal Addiction, they found that, while overall quit rates for the study were high, participants with anxiety diagnoses were much less likely to quit smoking.

Furthermore, the researchers discovered a high rate of anxiety related disorders among participants.

Out of the 1,504 people who took part in the study, 455 had experienced a panic attack in the past, 199 had a social anxiety disorder, and 99 showed signs of having or having had a generalised anxiety disorder.

Lead author Megan Piper, commented: "Further research is needed to identify better counselling and medication treatments to help patients with anxiety disorders to quit smoking."

Figures for 2008 show that around 10 million adults in Britain smoke cigarettes.

Waist to Height Ratio is a better predictor of heart disease and diabetes risk than body mass index (BMI), according to new research. British scientists analysed a team of 300,000 people, and found that Waist...

Only one in five people in the UK eat the recommended five portions of fruit and veg a day, according to a new poll. The YouGov survey of more than 2,000 UK adults, carried out for the World Cancer Research...

The number of people dying from cancer in their 50’s has fallen to its lowest record level. Figures from Cancer Research UK show a 40 per cent drop in cancer deaths among 50 to 59 year olds. Now, 185 in...

Experts at Oxford University have recommended a 20 per cent fat tax on sugary drinks to help with the UK’s obesity crisis. A recent study published in the Lancet Journal warned that almost half of British men...

A survey by Macmillan Cancer Support has revealed that people are often unprepared for the financial cost of cancer. Research by Macmillan Cancer Support has shown that the average cancer patient in Wales...