Singh NN, Lancioni GE, Winton AS, Singh AN, Singh J, Singh AD. American Health and Wellness Institute, Verona, VA, USA. nnsingh@ahwinstitute.com. Res Dev Disabil. 2011 May-Jun;32(3):1180-5. doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2011.01.003. Epub 2011 Feb 1.
Smoking is a major risk factor for a number of health conditions and many smokers find it difficult to quit smoking without specific interventions. We developed and used a mindfulness-based smoking cessation program with a 31-year-old man with mild intellectual disabilities who had been a smoker for 17 years. The mindfulness-based smoking cessation program consisted of three components: intention, mindful observation of thoughts, and Meditation on the Soles of the Feet. A changing-criterion analysis showed that this man was able to fade his cigarette smoking from 12 at baseline to 0 within 3 months, and maintain this for a year. Follow-up data, collected every 3 months following the maintenance period, showed he was able to abstain from smoking for 3 years. Our study suggests that this mindfulness-based smoking cessation program merits further investigation.