Healthier Hearts and Brains in Treating Smoking: The HABITS Study

• Exhaled CO readings [ Time Frame: baseline, weeks 2-4, post class follow-up, long term follow-up ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
• Saliva Test [ Time Frame: baseline ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
• Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging [ Time Frame: baseline & follow-up ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
• Urine Pregnancy Test [ Time Frame: baseline & follow-up ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
• Nicotine Replacement Therapy [ Time Frame: Week 1 ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
• Self Reported Measures [ Time Frame: baseline, post class follow-up & long term follow-up ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
• Standard Cognitive Therapy [ Time Frame: weeks 1-4 ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
• Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy [ Time Frame: weeks 1-4 ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]

• Exhaled CO readings [ Time Frame: baseline, sessions 5,6,7, & 8 ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
• Saliva Test [ Time Frame: baseline, sessions 5 & 8 ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
• Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging [ Time Frame: sessions 1, 5, & 8 ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
• Urine Pregnancy Test [ Time Frame: baseline ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
• Chantix medication [ Time Frame: Sessions 4-16 ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
• DNA testing [ Time Frame: baseline & session 8 ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
• Self Reported Measures [ Time Frame: baseline, sessions 8 & 6-month follow up ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
• Standard Cognitive Therapy [ Time Frame: baseline - session 8 ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
• Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy [ Time Frame: baseline - session 8 ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]

80 nicotine dependent adults ages 18-65 who desire to quit smoking will be screened and, if eligible, enrolled and randomized to one of two four-week treatments for smoking cessation. The treatments are standard behavioral therapy and Mindfulness Based Addiction Therapy (MBAT), which is standard therapy plus mindfulness. Standard therapy and MBAT incorporate elements of widely-used tools for smoking cessation including managing craving and strong emotions, problem solving, tips on healthy eating and keeping active, and exercises based on cognitive and behavioral therapy. MBAT uniquely incorporates mindfulness practice (a relaxation therapy) into standard therapy. Participants complete questionnaires and undergo an fMRI scan at baseline and at the end of therapy (after they complete the 4 weeks of standard therapy or MBAT). During each scan, participants will complete a validated smoking-related cue paradigm and a validated affect labeling paradigm.

• Behavioral: Standard Behavioral Therapy
  Standard therapy to help participants with smoking cessation.
• Behavioral: Mindfulness Based Addiction Therapy
  A novel mind body therapy that extends basic behavioral therapy principles to include the practice of mindfulness, which fosters a dispassionate approach to the experience of craving.

• Active Comparator: 1
  Intervention: Behavioral: Standard Behavioral Therapy
• Active Comparator: 2
  Intervention: Behavioral: Mindfulness Based Addiction Therapy

Inclusion Criteria:

• Participants will be considered eligible for enrollment if they are between 18-65 years old, smoke at least ½ pack cigarettes per day, desire to quit smoking (self-reported 75+ out of a possible 100), and have no contraindications for varenicline medication therapy or fMRI scanning (such as body weight over 250 lbs, intravascular metal devices including stents, or claustrophobia).

Exclusion Criteria:

• Participants will not be considered eligible for enrollment if they are not between 18-65 years old, smoke less than ½ pack cigarettes per day, do not desire to quit smoking (self-reported -75 out of a possible 100), or have contraindications for varenicline medication therapy or fMRI scanning (such as body weight over 250 lbs, intravascular metal devices including stents, or claustrophobia).