Psilocybin or Nicotine Patch for Smoking Cessation

What tobacco smoking cessation rates does psilocybin, an experimental treatment, yield compared with nicotine patch, an established treatment, with individuals in both groups receiving standardized cognitive behavioral therapy?In this pilot randomized clinical trial, 42 participants randomized to receive psilocybin had more than 6 times greater odds of prolonged smoking abstinence 6 months after treatment than 40 participants who received the nicotine patch.These results suggest that psilocybin holds potential in the treatment of tobacco use disorder and, along with other psychedelics, should be investigated further for tobacco and other substance use disorders.

Corresponding Author: Matthew W. Johnson, PhD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 5510 Nathan Schock Dr, Baltimore, MD 21224 (mattjohnson98@gmail.com).

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