Yoga for Women Attempting Smoking Cessation: an Initial Investigation

Smoking is the leading preventable cause of morbidity and mortality among women in the US. Quitting smoking may be especially problematic for women. As a form of exercise, yoga shares many of the same properties as traditional (Western) aerobic exercise which our previous research has shown to be an effective addition to smoking cessation. Yoga may also offer other benefits that may make it an especially effective complimentary treatment for women who are attempting to quit smoking.

In this study we will recruit two cohorts of 30 women smokers and provide cognitive-behavioral therapy for smoking cessation once weekly for 12 weeks. In addition, participants will be randomly assigned them to receive either; (1) Yoga or (2) a Wellness program (contact-control), twice weekly during the program. All participants will be assessed for changes in smoking behavior, psychosocial variables relevant to smoking cessation and other psychological constructs that may act as mechanisms of action (mediators) of yoga and smoking cessation. These variables include; weight concerns, perceived stress, mindfulness, self-esteem, quality of life and group cohesion. Interviews will be used to collect qualitative data at the end of each cohort. The proposed study is designed to provide information necessary to establish several research fundamentals necessary to support a full scale efficacy trial. These include: 1) establishing intervention feasibility and acceptability in the target population, 2) piloting recruitment and retention procedures and identifying barriers to participation, 3) obtaining qualitative feedback from participants to enhance treatment content and/or design, 4) establishing anticipated effect size estimates, and 5) identifying likely mechanisms of action that may be responsible for intervention efficacy.