About the Blog Author-John R. Hughes, MD

John R. Hughes, MD is Professor of Psychiatry, Psychology and Family Practice at the University of Vermont. Dr. Hughes is board certified in Psychiatry and Addiction Psychiatry. His major focus has been clinical research on tobacco use. Dr. Hughes received the Ove Ferno Award for research in nicotine dependence and the Alton Ochsner Award Relating Smoking and Health. He is a co-founder and past president of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, and the Association for the Treatment of Tobacco Use and Dependence. Dr. Hughes has been Chair of the Vermont Tobacco Evaluation and Review Board which oversees VT’s multi-million dollar tobacco control programs. He has over 400 publications on nicotine and other drug dependencies and is one of the world’s most cited tobacco scientist. Dr. Hughes has been a consultant on tobacco policy to the World Health Organization, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the White House. His current research is on how tobacco users and marijuana users stop or reduce use on their own, novel methods to prompt quit attempts by such users, whether smoking cessation reduces reward sensitivity and whether stopping e-cigarettes causes withdrawal. Dr Hughes has received fees from companies who develop smoking cessation devices, medications and services, from governmental and academic institutions, and from public and private organizations that promote tobacco control.

News

  • Changing Treatment in Non-Responders

    A common practice in medicine is to monitor response to a treatment and, if it seems to be inadequate, to increase the intensity or add/change to a new treatment. What is the empirical evidence for such a strategy in treating smokers?
    Four studies have tested changing treatment in non‐responders. Two studies found no benefit. One study provided nicotine patch to all smokers (15 mg daytime patch) and randomized them to receive a second patch of 10 mg if they had not stopped smoking or were having difficulty in the first week or to receive a placebo patch (Stapleton et a Addiction 90:31‐42, 1995). The increased dosage of patch did not improve quit rates. The other study examined increasing counseling with...