The current findings add novel information regarding the association between CYP2A6 and the tobacco use continuum in adolescence: while slow nicotine metabolizers convert to dependence faster [4], they smoke fewer cigarettes [4, 6], escalate in dependence slower [5, 6], and, we now show, are more likely to quit. This enhanced quitting ability may be mediated by reduced brain response to smoking-related cues [9]. Among young adult smokers, slow metabolizers (vs. normal metabolizers with similar smoking behaviors) displayed attenuated responses to visual smoking cues in reward and cue processing areas of the brain, as assessed by fMRI [9] which may reduce cravings and potentially improve quitting.
