Yoga as a Complementary Therapy for Smoking Cessation

July 13, 2021 updated by: Beth Bock, Ph.D., The Miriam Hospital

Efficacy of Yoga as a Complementary Therapy for Smoking Cessation

This study examines the efficacy of yoga as a complementary therapy for smoking cessation

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Despite the existence of effective medications for smoking cessation, approximately 50-80% of smokers attempt to quit without using pharmacotherapy. Efforts to encourage medication use during cessation attempts have met with mixed success. Many do not use medications because of concerns about side effects, contraindications that make medication use inappropriate, and individual preferences for chemical-free quit attempts. This leaves many smokers seeking an effective alternative to assist them in attempting to quit smoking. Each year, over 41% of smokers report failed attempts to quit smoking. Thus, effective non-pharmacological interventions to increase rates of successful cessation are greatly needed.

Our research, and the research of other investigators, has demonstrated that traditional (Western) exercise (e.g., brisk walking, bicycling) improves smokers' ability to successfully quit. Exercise may help smokers quit by reducing concerns regarding post-cessation weight gain, and by reducing nicotine withdrawal and enhancing mood. Recent research suggests that yoga is an acceptable and potentially effective alternative therapy for smoking cessation for several reasons: As a form of exercise, yoga shares many of the same properties as traditional (Western) aerobic exercise in that yoga has been shown to improve mood, physical fitness, weight control, self-image and quality of life in healthy and ill populations. Moreover, features of yoga, including a focus on breathing, mental concentration, meditation, stress reduction and enhanced mood are likely to have special relevance for smokers who are trying to quit. Thus, yoga may be particularly attractive as an alternative for individuals who either cannot use medications, or who choose not to use medications while quitting.

The proposed study will test the efficacy of Yoga as a complementary therapy for smoking cessation using a randomized, controlled study design. Adult smokers will be randomly assigned to either; 1) Yoga, or 2) an equal contact time Control group (CTL) given a health & wellness program to control for contact time. All participants will be provided (separately by treatment group assignment) with the same cognitive-behavioral Smoking Cessation Counseling (SCC). Smoking abstinence will be measured at the end of treatment (week 8) and at 3, 6 and 12 months follow-up. We hypothesize that abstinence will be significantly higher in the SCC+Yoga group compared to SCC+CTL. We will also test theoretically posited mediators of intervention efficacy (e.g., perceived stress, cognitive/perceptual changes), examine the cost-efficacy of the yoga intervention, and examine the relationship between maintenance of yoga practice during the post-treatment period and smoking status. This study builds on our programmatic line of research developing innovative, theory-driven smoking cessation therapies.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

255

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Rhode Island
      • Providence, Rhode Island, United States, 02906
        • The Miriam Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 18 years or older (physician clearance for age > 65)
  • English-speaking
  • Currently Healthy
  • Smoking smoked 5 or more cigarettes/day
  • Must accept randomization procedure
  • BMI< 40
  • Will be Living in RI/MA/CT for next year

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Participated in any Yoga, Tai Chi, Qi Gong or Mindfulness-based therapy program twice in the past month or 10 times within the past year
  • MD refused consent or Unable to obtain MD consent
  • Unable to attend program due to work or home schedule
  • Currently using medications or in active treatment to quit smoking
  • Currently or planned participation in research or treatment programs that would interfere with this study
  • Presence of health conditions that would make participation in yoga difficult or dangerous

Medical Exclusion Criteria

  • Cardiovascular disease
  • Stroke/TIA
  • Chest pain with physical activity
  • Current or recent (< 6 months) cancer treatment
  • Uncontrolled Hypertension
  • Untreated major depression or hospitalization < six months
  • Bone joint problems
  • Liver or Kidney Disease
  • Fainting within the past year
  • History of seizures
  • Balance condition that interferes with ability to exercise
  • Respiratory Condition - COPD (e.g., emphysema requiring oxygen)
  • Liver Disease
  • Kidney Disease
  • Other medical condition that would interfere with ability to exercise
  • Hypothyroid (not on stable medication for 3 months)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Smoking Cessation plus Yoga
Twice weekly, 1-hour yoga classes delivered for 8 weeks combined with once-weekly, 1-hour cognitive-behavioral smoking cessation classes.
Behavioral: Smoking Cessation
Once weekly program of cognitive-behavioral therapy for smoking cessation
Behavioral: Yoga
Twice weekly program of 1-hour Iyengar yoga classes
Active Comparator: Smoking Cessation plus Wellness
Twice-weekly, 1-hour Wellness classes given on a variety of health topics twice weekly to match schedule of the yoga classes, plus 1-hour per week of cognitive-behavioral smoking cessation
Behavioral: Smoking Cessation
Once weekly program of cognitive-behavioral therapy for smoking cessation
Other: Wellness
Twice weekly program of 1-hour wellness classes on a variety of health topics.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Smoking abstinence
Time Frame: One year
Abstinence from smoking at 1-year post treatment
One year

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

The Miriam Hospital

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

July 1, 2012

Primary Completion (Actual)

July 1, 2016

Study Completion (Actual)

June 1, 2017

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 11, 2013

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 11, 2013

First Posted (Estimate)

March 13, 2013

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 19, 2021

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 13, 2021

Last Verified

July 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • R01AT006948 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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