Lab earns $2.8 million grant

The Smoking Laboratory at SIUC was recently awarded a $2.8 million grant to do research concerning why people smoke and how they react to quitting.

The laboratory, which has been a part of SIU since 1985, is preparing a new five-year study that will determine how certain people respond to products geared at getting people to quit smoking. The National Institute on Drug Abuse has given $2.8 million to David Gilbert, a professor of psychology and director of the smoking laboratory.

"It's by far the largest study looking at the effects of brainwaves and mood of those quitting smoking," Gilbert said.

The study is one of six that the National Institute on Drug Abuse has funded, with more than $6 million given to the smoking laboratory. The latest study offers participants $300 dollars if they finish the study and an additional $500 if they stay smoke-free for the 67 days of the study. The new item being introduced to the program is Zyban, which is a pill that works similarly to the nicotine patch by weaning the user from nicotine.

The participants are monitored on a weekly basis and given tests to make sure they keep from smoking and are using the pill or patch. Gilbert said there are tests involved to keep participants from smoking.

"We bio-chemically verify with things like breathalyzers and saliva." Gilbert said. "They only get paid if they do what they're supposed to do."

The lab will also employ around 45 students in the fall. Gilbert said the study provides them with valuable lab experience that they can use for their career. Some of the lab employees are actually former participants. Clinton Krewson, a 21-year-old senior studying psychology and philosophy from Rantoul, works in the lab as a research assistant. He took part in one of the smoking studies his freshman year, though he returned to his old habits.

"I do smoke now." Krewson said. "It's ironic."

People who participate in the program offer the laboratory information of how different people deal with smoking. The studies have gotten in depth to the point where scientists can look at how a person's genes may play an important role in why they smoke, Gilbert said.

The participants who take part in the study make money, and they also have a chance to quit smoking for free. The study has resulted in an 80 percent success rate over the duration of the quit studies, Gilbert said.

Study participants are integral in producing high quality research and are partners in the study, said Norka Rabinovich, assistant director of the Smoking Laboratory.

Not every study is aimed at viewing the behavior of those who try to quit smoking. There are some studies available that are aimed at seeing how people behave while continuing to smoke, however they do not pay as much as the quit studies, Gilbert said.

"We had slightly over 80 percent success rate over the duration of the quit studies," Gilbert said.

For more information, call the Smoking Lab at 618-453-3561