"Its no secret that many people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder httpshealth.usnews.comconditionsadhd may gravitate towards cigarette smoking httpshealth.usnews.comhealthcarepatientadvicearticlescanadhdincreasetheoddsayoungpersonwillsmoke. Many experts indicate that there is an association between people with the disorder and the desire to light up. See  Concerns Parents Have About Their Kids Health httpshealth.usnews.comhealthnewshealthwellnessslideshowsconcernsparentshaveabouttheirkidshealth. Dr. Jeffrey Newcorn professor of psychiatry and director of the Division of ADHD and Learning Disorders at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai httpshealth.usnews.combesthospitalsareanymountsinaimedicalcenter says that there is indeed a relationship between ADHD and smoking. People with ADHD are at somewhat of an increased risk to abuse drugs he says adding that the drug theyre more likely to resort to is nicotine because of its role in modulating the neurotransmission of dopamine in the brain.   People with ADHD dont produce as much dopamine  a neurotransmitter linked to the ability to regulate emotional response  as someone without the disorder. Dopamine is also associated with feelings of reward and pleasure. Research has found a connection between ADHD symptoms and lowered dopamine levels or issues with the efficiency of the brains dopamine receptors. Newcorn explains that through the years there have also been some schools of thought that people with ADHD have a harder time quitting the habit. This ultimately drove researchers to think about developing a nonstimulant alternative in the form of a drug that safely mimics the effects of nicotine. However he says that this hasnt yet panned out. Instead what has gained more attention Newcorn says is research about any possible roles ADHD stimulant medications may play in helping someone with the disorder quit or at least reduce nicotine use. There has been and continues to be a lot of interest in this area Newcorn says. More About Smoking Less Not Stopping Completely According to Scott H. Kollins professor and vice chair for research in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Duke University School of Medicine there isnt a concrete yes or no to the question of whether ADHD stimulants httpshealth.usnews.comhealthcarepatientadvicearticleswhatnewdrugsareinthepipelinetotreatadhd can help an ADHD person quit. In fact he says that rather than this being an issue of quitting the habit altogether it appears that the focus is more about ADHD stimulants role in possibly lessening the number of cigarettes smoked. In fact Kollins was involved in a study https  published in the Journal of Attention Disorders  that touched on this very subject. The journal states that our findings suggest that among adult regular smokers with ADHD who are interested in quitting LDX does not increase the probability of smoking cessation more than does placebo but is associated with a significant overall reduction in the amount of cigarettes smoked and is effective for reducing ADHD symptoms. LDX stands for lisdexamfetamine dimesylate an ADHD stimulant more commonly known by the brand name Vyvanse https In this and other related research Kollins has been involved with he says that overall stimulants dont necessarily help people with ADHD quit smoking people dont really improve any greater than with a placebo. However he states that the people taking ADHD stimulants smoked less compared to those taking a placebo. See Hoarding ADHD Narcissism Inside the Minds of Historys Great Personalities httpshealth.usnews.comwellnessslideshowshoardingadhdnarcissisminsidethemindsofhistorysgreatpersonalities. Kollins also points out that this study yielded results comparable other research on the topic. In fact the LDX study notes that findings from this study are consistent with another published trial of osmoticrelease methylphenidate in adult smokers httpshealth.usnews.comhealthcarepatientadvicearticlescantechnologyhelpmequitsmoking with ADHD which reported no effects of the stimulant drug on smoking cessation outcomes but reductions in cigarettes smokedday and significant drugplacebo differences in ADHD symptoms across the study Winhusen et al. . Concerta is an example of an osmoticrelease methylphenidate.   httpshealth.usnews.comconditionsadhdA Patients Guide to ADHD httpshealth.usnews.comconditionsadhd Know the basics on symptoms diagnosis and treatment to help as you battle the disease. Anna Medaris MillerJan.   All of this begs the question What is it about ADHD stimulant medication that may produce this effect Kollins explains that stimulants do similar things from a pharmacologic perspective as nicotine suggesting that taking such medication may replace the urge to light up as frequently. Treatment with stimulants may put the urge to smoke in check more he speculates. The Road Ahead  Such research isnt to say that taking ADHD stimulants will automatically make a person with the disorder ease up on their habit. You certainly couldnt say that stimulants could be used for smoking cessation in people with ADHD Newcorn says. On the other hand stimulants are an appropriate treatment for people with ADHD whether they smoke or not. He explains that currently thinking about stimulants in terms of helping people with ADHD with smoking cessation httpshealth.usnews.comhealthcarepatientadvicearticleshardcoresmokersactuallywanttoquittoo means talking about something offlabel  in other words not for intended use despite the fact that certain positive outcomes may arise by taking it.  But Newcorn adds that there may be reasonable strategies such as limiting a medication to a specific group of people and within a specific class of medication. For example he explains that Wellbutrin an antidepressant and Zyban a drug to help a person stop smoking are the same drug but they are marketed for different things. Many studies show that Wellbutrin could have a positive effect for people with ADHD he says making the point that sorting through such labeling and marketing intricacies could play a role in further exploration on the topic. See  Things You Didnt Know About Counseling httpshealth.usnews.comhealthnewshealthwellnessslideshowsthingsyoudidntknowaboutcounseling. The takehome message is if theres an adult patient with ADHD httpshealth.usnews.comhealthcarepatientadvicearticleshowdoiknowifihaveadhdasanadult who smokes that person should do everything possible to stop smoking Kollins says. To help kick the habit he suggests a person explore the many available options including nicotine replacement therapy or behavioral interventions such as cognitive behavioral therapy httpshealth.usnews.comhealthnewshealthwellnessarticlesdoesonlinecognitivebehaviortherapywork. However Kollins explains that if he or she is being safely treated with stimulants to help manage symptoms and possibly discovers that the medication may help them smoke fewer cigarettes along the way then it should be perceived as an extra benefit."