Decrease of nicotine craving and consumption through the use of rTMS: a case report

General Medicine, 2025, 27(6), 31-34

G. S. Dimitrova

Clinic of Psychiatry, Military Medical Academy ‒ Sofia

Abstract. Nicotine addiction is one of the most serious health risk factors worldwide, representing a leading cause of preventable disease, disability and death. We present the case study of a successful treatment of craving in a patient with nicotine addiction, through the application of a course of twenty-five procedures of high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, at 100% individual motor threshold intensity, once a day in sets of five weekly, with two days of rest between sets. A decrease in the subjective desire to smoke by more than 50% and a reduction in the number of cigarettes smoked per day by half were observed. At a subsequent follow-up over a period of six weeks, a persistence of the positive effect of the treatment was observed.

Key words: smoking, rTMS; craving, non-pharmacological treatment

Address for correspondence: Dr. Galina Sergeeva Dimitrova, DM, e-mail: gugule93@gmail.com