Public Health and Addiction Treatment

A Johns Hopkins University team reports in JAMA Network Open that a single high dose of psilocybin, combined with cognitive behavioral therapy, produced far higher six‑month quit rates in adult smokers than standard nicotine patches plus the same therapy. In a randomized trial of 82 current smokers, 17 people in the psilocybin group remained abstinent at six months versus just four in the nicotine‑patch group, giving those who took psilocybin more than six times greater odds of having quit. All participants received 13 weeks of counseling, and psilocybin recipients underwent facilitated, day‑long psychedelic sessions in a controlled clinical setting, with eye shades and music, rather than any take‑home use. Researchers note the study lacked a true placebo, which can bias results in psychedelic trials, and stress that the findings must be replicated in larger and more diverse populations before psilocybin could move toward FDA review as a cessation aid. Outside addiction experts call the results "exciting," emphasizing that current approved medications only help about 20%–30% of smokers quit long‑term, leaving most still addicted to a product that kills hundreds of thousands of Americans each year.