Key points

Depressed and other mentally ill individuals are more likely to smoke cigarettes.

Nicotine patches, gum, lozenges, nasal spray, and inhaler are approved to combat cigarette smoking addiction.

Vaping has been proposed as a harm-reducing treatment for adult cigarette smokers, but some questions remain.

Varenicline (Chantix) is the most effective cessation treatment for cigarette smoking or nicotine vaping.

When I was in medical training in the 1970s, 40 percent of adults in the U.S. smoked cigarettes. There were cigarette vending machines everywhere, cigarettes cost a low 40 cents per pack, making teen use easy, and people smoked everywhere, from theaters to airplanes. The situation has markedly changed. Only 11 percent of U.S. adults were cigarette smokers in 2023. Who mis

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