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Updated: Jun 26, 2026

Creating Dynamic Images of Short-lived Dopamine Fluctuations with lp-ntPET: Dopamine Movies of Cigarette Smoking
Published on: August 6, 2013
The impact of cigarette smoking on stimulant addiction
Andrea H Weinberger1, Mehmet Sofuoglu
1Program for Research on Smokers with Mental Illness (PRISM), Substance Abuse Center, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. andrea.weinberger@yale.edu
Objectives:
Stimulant users smoke cigarettes at high rates; however, little is known about the relationship between tobacco and stimulants.
Methods:
Our goal in this article is to synthesize a growing literature on the role of cigarette smoking in stimulant addiction.
Results:
Early nicotine exposure may influence the development of stimulant addiction. Preclinical and clinical studies suggest a facilitatory role of nicotinic agonists for stimulant addiction. Smoking appears to be associated with more severe stimulant use and poorer treatment outcomes.
Conclusions:
It is important to assess smoking and smoking-related variables within stimulant research studies to more fully understand the comorbidity. Integrating smoking cessation into stimulant treatment may improve nicotine and stimulant treatment outcomes.
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