Peter Hajek is Professor of Clinical Psychology, Head of Psychology, and Director of Tobacco Dependence Research Unit at Barts and The London, Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of London. His research is concerned primarily with understanding smoking behaviour, and developing and evaluating smoking cessation treatments. He has authored or co-authored over 200 publications, holds various academic and editorial appointments, and had input into the UK Government's initiative to establish smoking cessation services. His Unit is involved in examining both behavioural and pharmacological interventions, and in offering treatment to dependent smokers who seek help.

Dr Hayden McRobbie is a Research Fellow at the Clinical Trials Research Unit, University of Auckland, New Zealand where he specialises in smoking cessation research and treatment. He studied medicine at the University of Otago and after a several years in clinical medicine he moved to London to work with Professor Peter Hajek. He worked on a large number of projects and clinical trails looking at ways to help people stop smoking, as well pharmacological and behavioural methods that alleviate the symptoms of tobacco withdrawal. In New Zealand Hayden continues his research into treatment to help people stop smoking and retains close links with the UK where he is a Visiting Lecturer at Barts and The London, Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry, and Programme Director of the UK National Smoking Cessation Conference.

Robert West is Director of Tobacco Studies at the Cancer Research UK Health Behaviour Unit at University College London. He has been researching tobacco and nicotine dependence since 1982 and has published more than 250 scientific works. His research involves surveys of smoking patterns, clinical trials of aids to smoking cessation and laboratory studies of nicotine withdrawal symptoms. He is co-author of the English National Smoking Cessation Guidelines that provided the blueprint for the English Stop Smoking Services and is also Editor-in-Chief of the journal, Addiction.