Anger Management May Help Smokers Quit, Study Says

Researchers from the University of California at Irvine are suggesting that smokers try anger-management classes to help them stop smoking, All Headline News reported April 24.

Jean Gehricke and colleagues studied non-smokers and found that nicotine provided calming neurological effects during anger provocation. Non-smokers were more prone to react aggressively when they were not wearing nicotine patches, the researchers said.

People with “angry dispositions” are at heightened risk to start smoking and to develop a nicotine addiction, Gehrick said. Previous research indicates a link between smoking and anger.

“Novel neurotherapeutic and behavioral treatments (e.g., anger-management training) that affect the cortical and limbic brain areas may aid smoking-cessation efforts in anger-provoking situations that increase withdrawal and tobacco cravings,” according to Gehrick.

The findings were published April 24, 2009 in the journal Behavioral and Brain Functions.