With the arguments against smoking mounting up, kicking the habit has found its way into the top ten new year resolutions. It is, as you may imagine, fricking hard to do, what with it being an addiction and all. Most methods for quitting tend to centre around craving management and nicotine replacement, but emerging research has indicated that there may be a less painful way. A study has found that through certain types of brain training and mindfulness techniques, it may be possible to reduce smoking without even noticing. Researchers took a group of 60 students and split them into two groups, one would take part in mindfulness meditation training, and the other group would study a muscle relaxation technique. At the end of the two-week study, the students were given brain scans, questionnaires and carbon monoxide tests. It was found that the group who took part in the mindfulness training didn't report any changes in their smoking habits, but their independent carbon monoxide tests showed that they had actually cut down by as much as 60%. When this data was shown to a student who claimed to have smoked 20 cigarettes, they checked their pocket and were shocked to find that they still had 10 left. It is thought that the mindfulness techniques strengthen the self-control networks in the brain and improve the ability to manage stress without resorting to cigarettes, meaning that the students subconsciously cut back without having to suffer the stressful withdrawal that so often causes relapse.