Vernonia cinerea pastilles is effective for smoking cessation

Abstract

Background and aim Vernonia cinerea (VC) is a herb that can alleviate nicotine addiction, potentially aiding in smoking cessation. Previous studies have examined four-to eight-week treatments using VC, but have found it to be ineffective. This study aimed to evaluate the smoking cessation effects of VC in addicted smokers over a longer treatment duration with pastilles. Experimental procedure This was a randomized double-blinded controlled trial conducted at a community pharmacy. The inclusion criteria were age between 18 and 60 years, intention to quit smoking, and low to moderate level of nicotine addiction. All eligible participants were stratified according to nicotine addiction level and then randomly assigned either VC treatment or placebo. The VC group received two pastilles three times daily, while the control group received a placebo for 12 weeks. The outcomes were continuous abstinence rate (CAR) and point abstinence rate (PAR) at four and 12 weeks. Results There were 121 eligible participants; 10 participants were not willing to participate. In total, there were 111 eligible participants, 54 of whom were treated with VC (48.65%) and 57 of whom were given a placebo (51.35%). Baseline characteristics were comparable between the two groups. The VC group had a significantly higher chance of smoking cessation at 2.01 (95% CI of 1.03, 3.92) compared with the placebo group at the end of the study. There were no significant side effects in either group. Conclusion The VC pastille group had significantly higher CAR than the placebo group at week 12.

Efficacy of Vernonia cinerea (L) Less for smoking cessation: An updated meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

“…Our MA indicated that VC could enhance clinical efficacy of smoking cessation with fewer adverse effects compared to placebo. Our findings demonstrated that VC treatment has the potential to improveCAR 2,4,8,12, 16 and PAR 2,4,8,12. This finding is in agreement with the previous SR and MA from Puttarak et al (…”

“…In addition, a pastille VC may be an effective dosage form for smoking cessation because it can be maintained and held in the patient's mouth, allowing for a longer duration of contact and effect. A longer duration may also be necessary for VC to exhibit any effect (12). Additionally, it may also affect the taste buds and olfactory receptors, which may further reduce craving.…”

“…Four trials have studied the efficacy of VC tea (9,(21)(22)(23), two studies used VC lozenges (24,25), and two studies used VC pastilles (12,26), while two other studies evaluated VC capsules (11) and VC sprays (10). Only four studies have used VC extracts so far (10,12,24,26).…”

“…Safety outcomes were reported in six of the ten studies involving 456 patients (9)(10)(11)(12)24,26). The number of AEs was comparable between the two groups.…”

“…It also makes the cigarette smell unpleasant and perturbs the sense of taste (9,10). Previous randomized controlled trials (RCTs) point to prevalence abstinence (PAR) and continuous abstinence rate (CAR) as effective measures of evaluating the efficacy of VC on smoking cessation (9,11,12). The systematic review and meta-analysis (MA) published in 2018 included five RCTs of VC in various dosage forms compared to placebos (capsules, lozenges, and juice) in 347 participants (13).…”