Dr. Brandon has several lines of research, most of which focus on tobacco relapse and relapse prevention. One involves development and evaluation of low-cost smoking cessation and relapse prevention interventions. Dr. Brandon’s team developed a simple yet innovative “self-help” relapse prevention intervention: a series of booklets, which proved to be both clinically effective and highly cost-effective. The NCI is now disseminating these booklets. Dr. Brandon is currently conducting studies testing the efficacy of the booklets among smokers calling a state quitline, and examining the efficacy of this approach for smoking cessation more generally. Dr. Brandon also conducts laboratory-based experiments testing novel factors that contribute to tobacco smoking or cessation. His team recently published studies on the mechanisms underlying: (1) smoking to cope with pain; (2) smoking to restore depleted self-control; and (3) the efficacy of varenicline (a smoking-cessation medication).