Genes linked with ability to quit smoking

According to Medical News Today, there is a connection between a person's ability to quit smoking on their own or having to use medication to stop smoking. the discovery is being used to make unique treatments for the needs of each individual who is trying to quit.  Researchers have found that some individuals have a weakness to nicotine dependence. they used 3 nicotinic receptor genes, CHRNA5-CHRNA3-CHRNB4, that have already been proven to have a connection with nicotine addiction.

The researchers used the information from another study and found that people who have the high-risk genes that try to stop smoking that 2 more years to completely quit than individuals who have low-risk genes. individuals who have the high-risk genes had a heavier nicotine consumption than those who didn't. this made it harder for them to quit. Li-Shiun Chen, M.D., of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis stated: "We found that the effects of smoking cessation medications depend on a person's genes. If smokers have the risk genes, they don't quit easily on their own and will benefit greatly from the medications. If smokers don't have the risk genes, they are likely to quit successfully without the help of medications such as nicotine replacement or bupropion."

This study proved that not all individuals with nicotine addictions can be treated the same way. Statistics show that there are about 440,000 deaths in the United States related to smoking or being exposed to second hand smoke. it is also known that 8.6 million Americans have a smoking-related disease and more than 46 million adults that smoke in the United States. i thought this study was very important because it shows the effects of smoking and how bad this addiction really is. i think that that smoking does more damage than a lot of people think it does. it is great that people are being informed about how hard quitting is. this study will help many individuals quit because now they will have individual approaches for them.