Long-term follow-up of psilocybin-facilitated smoking cessation
This follow-up study (n=15) found that at 12 months 67% of participants didn't return to smoking (biologically confirmed). This was 60% at an average of 30-month follow-up. This study is the first (very positive) step in seeing if psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAT) may be viable for people to quit smoking.
Authors
- Albert Garcia-Romeu
- Roland Griffiths
- Matthew Johnson
Published
Abstract
Background
A recent open-label pilot study (N = 15) found that two to three moderate to high doses (20 and 30 mg/70 kg) of the serotonin 2A receptor agonist, psilocybin, in combination with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for smoking cessation, resulted in substantially higher 6-month smoking abstinence rates than are typically observed with other medications or CBT alone.
Objectives
To assess long-term effects of a psilocybin-facilitated smoking cessation program at ≥12 months after psilocybin administration.
Methods
The present report describes biologically verified smoking abstinence outcomes of the previous pilot study at ≥12 months, and related data on subjective effects of psilocybin.
Results
All 15 participants completed a 12-month follow-up, and 12 (80%) returned for a long-term (≥16 months) follow-up, with a mean interval of 30 months (range = 16-57 months) between target-quit date (i.e., first psilocybin session) and long-term follow-up. At 12-month follow-up, 10 participants (67%) were confirmed as smoking abstinent. At long-term follow-up, nine participants (60%) were confirmed as smoking abstinent. At 12-month follow-up 13 participants (86.7%) rated their psilocybin experiences among the five most personally meaningful and spiritually significant experiences of their lives.
Conclusion
These results suggest that in the context of a structured treatment program, psilocybin holds considerable promise in promoting long-term smoking abstinence. The present study adds to recent and historical evidence suggesting high success rates when using classic psychedelics in the treatment of addiction. Further research investigating psilocybin-facilitated treatment of substance use disorders is warranted.
Research Summary of 'Long-term follow-up of psilocybin-facilitated smoking cessation'
Introduction
Smoking remains a major global public health problem, causing millions of deaths annually and projected to increase in coming years. Existing smoking cessation treatments typically fail to produce long-term abstinence for most people, creating a need to explore novel approaches. Earlier work by the investigators described an open-label pilot that combined psilocybin, a 5-HT2AR agonist, with cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and reported an unusually high biologically verified 6-month abstinence rate (80%) in 15 participants, together with an acceptable acute safety profile. This paper reports previously unpublished long-term follow-up data from that pilot trial. Johnson and colleagues set out to assess smoking cessation outcomes at 12 months and at a later long-term follow-up (mean 30 months post-target-quit date), and to describe persisting subjective effects attributed to the psilocybin sessions. The aim was to evaluate the durability of abstinence and to explore relationships between session-related subjective experiences and smoking outcomes over the longer term.
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Study Details
- Study Typeindividual
- Journal
- Compound
- Topics
- Authors
- APA Citation
Johnson, M. W., Garcia-Romeu, A., & Griffiths, R. R. (2017). Long-term follow-up of psilocybin-facilitated smoking cessation. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 43(1), 55-60. https://doi.org/10.3109/00952990.2016.1170135
References (10)
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