Background: Tobacco use is the most widespread preventable cause of cancer and is linked to 30% of cancer-related deaths.(1) Many smokers want to quit but are unsuccessful; tools such as nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products can increase quit rates by 50-60%.(2) While smoking cessation is the ideal way to combat tobacco-related diseases, screening for diseases [...]

Background: The role of a hospitalist in treating nicotine withdrawal using counseling and medications during hospitalization can improve cessation rates of tobacco users. Clinical decision support and drug-condition alerts within the electronic medical record prompt the prescribing of medications for tobacco treatment and ease documentation of reimbursable counseling by physicians. Additionally, several hospitals have implemented [...]

Background: Although most cigarette smokers want to quit, current cessation therapies have limited effectiveness. Preventing relapse is limited by insufficient understanding of the neural pathways that are triggered during relapse. With recent advances in functional connectivity analysis, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies offer the ability to better neural functional connectivity during relapse. This study [...]