Varenicline for smoking cessation in individuals who smoke cigarettes and use electronic cigarettes: a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial

Caponnetto, Pasquale; Spicuzza, Lucia; Campagna, Davide; Ahluwalia, Jasjit S.; Russell, Christopher; Maglia, Marilena; Riela, Paolo Marco; Longo, Carmelo Fabio; Caci, Grazia; Quattropani, Maria Catena; Signorelli, Maria Salvina; Polosa, Riccardo

doi:10.1016/j.eclinm.2023.102316

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…Reductions in drinking from study baseline to the end of treatment were sustained at follow-up in both treatment groups. In terms of the smoking outcomes, varenicline has shown superiority to placebo on smoking abstinence at 6-month follow-up in some prior trials, 19,56 but when abstinence rates have been compared between varenicline and active placebo groups (ie, those receiving nicotine patch and placebo medication), the superiority of varenicline was no longer evident, 52 as seen in the current study. Further, the present study exclusively focused on heavy drinkers, who have been largely excluded from similar studies and incur different challenges for sustaining smoking abstinence than non–heavy drinking smokers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 50%

Combination Treatment With Varenicline and Nicotine Patch on Smoking Cessation Outcomes in Heavy Drinkers at 26-Week Follow-up

Robinson,

Didier,

Thomas

et al. 2024

J Clin Psychopharmacol

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Purpose/Background People who smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol heavily are less likely to quit smoking compared with those who do not drink heavily. The current study examined the effects of a 12-week treatment phase of combination varenicline and nicotine patch compared with placebo and nicotine patch on smoking cessation (primary outcome) and alcohol consumption (secondary outcome) in heavy drinking smokers at 26-week follow-up. Methods/Procedures Participants were daily smokers who met heavy drinking criteria. They were randomly assigned to receive either varenicline and nicotine patch (n = 61) or placebo and nicotine patch (n = 61) for 12 weeks. At week 26, self-reports of point prevalence cigarette abstinence were biochemically confirmed, and past-month alcohol drinking days and heavy drinking days were assessed. Findings/Results At week 26, smoking quit rates did not differ by treatment group (25% varenicline and 26% placebo). Relative to week 12 outcomes, week 26 quit rates significantly dropped off in the varenicline group but not in the placebo group. Alcohol drinking reductions for the whole sample that were previously observed from baseline to week 12 were sustained at week 26, although they did not differ between treatment groups. Implications/Conclusions In heavy drinking smokers, smoking cessation success was evident in a quarter of the total sample at 3 months postmedication discontinuation. At this time, quit rates were the same between those who received varenicline and nicotine patch and those who received nicotine patch alone. Future research is warranted to examine what may aid in longer-term smoking quit rates in heavy drinking smokers.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 50%