Since the health hazards of cigarette smoking became widely publicized in a series of reports by the Surgeon General in 1964, public attitudes toward smoking have grown more negative and the majority of smokers have tried to stop smoking. As the prevalence of smoking in the United States has gone from 40% in 1965 to recent estimates of about 25% of the adult population, those smokers who continue to smoke tend to be the hard core. These are smokers who have made numerous attempts to stop smoking but have failed.

This book constitutes a major new resource for professionals working with hard core smokers and their families. It is designed as a practical, clinically useful and up-to-date guide for all those in a position to intervene: mental health professionals, physicians, dentists, nurses, pharmacists and other health care professionals, clergy, human resource and employee assistance program corporate staff, and teachers and guidance counselors.

New research suggests that difficult-to-treat smokers often have emotional problems adjusting to stopping smoking. Some also have psychiatric diagnoses...