Researchers from the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, have discovered a genetic variant that makes the wearer easier to quit smoking. They also found a gene that makes someone more likely to start smoking. The scientists hope their discovery may contribute to the development of therapies and medications that can promote smoking cessation. This requires more research needed.  ”You could see if someone has this genetic variation, but it still says very little about the likelihood that such person may actually stop smoking, or will begin smoking cigarettes or how that person will smoke”, says researcher Henning Tiemeier.

The researchers draw from an extensive genetic study in which sixteen studies from around the world are brought together. They have the DNA of more than 80,000 people compared where they distinguish between smokers and non-smokers, smokers and ex-smokers themselves. Their findings are of this week on the website of the scientific journal Nature Genetics.

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