Speaking of Psychology Women and smoking (SOP5)
Jan 13, 2014
Sherry McKee, a behavioral pharmacology researcher and Yale psychiatry professor who studies gender differences in smoking. She discusses why women struggle more to quit, including stress, mood and menstrual factors. Talks about tailoring treatments, noradrenergic targets like guanfacine, and how nicotine reduction policies and sensory cues may affect men and women differently.
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Women Face Higher Health Risks And Lower Quit Rates
- Women are more susceptible to tobacco-related diseases and have lower quit rates than men despite similar exposure.
- National data show women’s quit rates have been lower than men’s every year for the past 40 years, and medications targeting nicotinic receptors work less well for women.
Different Motivations Drive Smoking By Sex
- Women tend to smoke to regulate negative mood and stress while men smoke more for nicotine reinforcement.
- McKee’s team targets the noradrenergic system because it links stress responses and nicotine reinforcement and may work differently by sex.
Target Stress Systems Not Just Nicotine Receptors
- Test medications that target stress-related brain systems rather than only nicotinic receptors to help smokers quit.
- Guanfacine reduced stress-driven smoking more in women and nicotine reinforcement more in men in initial studies.