Meditation Could Help Smokers Cut Down

 Learning a type of meditation technique might make it 

easier for smokers to cut down, at least on a short-term 

basis, new research suggests.

The finding is based on the experiences of just five smokers, 

and could be purely coincidental. Researchers found, 

however, that training other smokers how to relax had no 

effect on how much they smoked, a sign that there may 

indeed be something to the meditation approach.

So should smokers meditate if they want to smoke less?

"Sure, why not?" said study co-author. "[Still], I can't say that 

all forms of meditation will produce these affects. It's likely 

that it depends on the brain state that the person is in, and 

there may be other ways to get into it."

Researchers have linked "mindfulness meditation" to a 

variety of health benefits. In just the past few years, it's been 

associated with relief from cold, flu, hot flashes and irritable 

bowel syndrome. It also has been linked to healthy changes 

in the brain itself.

Mindfulness meditation is designed to help people to relax, 

focus on the current moment and, essentially, go with the 

flow of thoughts and sensations.

In the new study, researchers assigned 60 people -- 27 

cigarette smokers and 33 nonsmokers with an average age 

of 21 -- to one of two groups. Each group went through five 

hours of training over two weeks in either mindfulness 

meditation or relaxation.

After the two weeks, the researchers gave breath tests to the 

smokers to see how much they'd been smoking. There was 

no change for those who learned to relax, but the 

measurement fell by 60 percent in those who learned how to 

meditate.

Five smokers who learned about meditation talked to 

researchers four weeks after the study and said they were 

still smoking less. However, "because the number was so 

small, we do not yet know exactly how long the reduction will 

last," the researchers said.

He said there are caveats to the research. The study is 

small, he said, and the participants were all college 

students. On the other hand, he said, most participants 

didn't know they were taking part in a smoking study.

If meditation is truly having an effect, what might be going 

on? Other research has suggested that meditation improves 

connections in the brain, he said. The new study found that 

the brains of the smokers who learned meditation techniques 

were more active in an area linked to self-control. 

Researchers also think reduction in stress may be an 

important reason meditation seems to provide medical relief.

He added that meditation, unlike drugs, doesn't appear to 

have any major side effects. There could be an expense: It 

may cost a few bucks to take a meditation class or learn 

from a book or online.

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