The UW-CTRI meditation study is designed to examine how "mindfulness" meditation can help people quit smoking. 

Early results show promise, said lead researcher James Davis, a University of Wisconsin physician. Quit rates are quite high, especially in participants who started the study with an interest in learning meditation.  Davis said about 60 participants have learned mindfulness, a cognitive skill that may be used to help manage craving, withdrawal symptoms, stress and negative emotions, all powerful determinants of relapse. 

“Many participants who have started meditation have reported profound experiences,” Davis said. “We’ve seen people not only quit smoking, but begin daily exercise, change their diet, be more generous to others, increase their curiosity about life and improve relationships.”

Jim Powell, psychotherapist and meditation instructor, teaches the meditation classes.  In the class, participants have learned how to handle craving episodes, internal triggers, external influences and withdrawal.