Interplay of genetic risk (CHRNA5) and environmental risk (partner smoking) on cigarette smoking reduction

The CHRNA5 genetic risk synergized the effect of partner smoking, producing an especially low likelihood of successful smoking reduction in two complementary studies. This suggests that the genetic vulnerability may be mitigated by altering environmental factors. In addition, cessation pharmacotherapy neutralizes the increase in cessation failure associated with combined genetic and environmental risks, which has possible relevance to treatment algorithms.