Research library / Clinical trial
Pilot study of the 5-HT2AR agonist psilocybin in the treatment of tobacco addiction
Johnson MW, Garcia-Romeu A, Cosimano MP, et al. Journal of Psychopharmacology 2014;28(11):983-92
Clinical trialPsilocybintobacco use disordersmoking cessation
This small pilot study tested whether psilocybin could be added safely to a smoking cessation programme. Fifteen long-term smokers, who had tried to quit six times on average, took part in a 15-week programme that included two or three psilocybin sessions. Six months later, 12 of the 15 had stopped smoking, as confirmed by breath and urine tests. The authors note that this is much higher than typical quit rates, but because there was no comparison group the study cannot show that psilocybin caused the result.
What it found
- 12 of 15 participants (80%) were abstinent at 6 months (seven-day point prevalence, confirmed by biomarkers)
- The authors compare this with rates typically under 35% for other behavioural or drug treatments