Extending the time that someone takes a smoking cessation medication before stopping tobacco use doesn’t significantly improve the likelihood of staying smoke-free, a new study shows.<\/p>\n
Varenicline is the best medication available for helping people quit smoking. It has been sold since 2006 under the brand names Chantix and Champix, and recently became available in generic form.<\/p>\n
But even with varenicline, most people return to smoking within six months of quitting, says Larry Hawk, professor of psychology at the University at Buffalo and first author of the study in JAMA Network Open<\/a><\/em>. “We are testing ways to improve quit rates,” he says.<\/p>\n
But Hawk says the present data do not support that hypothesis.<\/p>\n
The door, however, remains open on this line of research.<\/p>\n
Though no one is certain why, women<\/a> have a tougher time quitting smoking on average than men, says Hawk, adding it would be worthwhile to conduct another study that focused exclusively on women.<\/p>\n
“That’s the likely direction we’ll take next.”<\/p>\n
Two preliminary clinical trials suggested that enhanced preloading beyond that one-week period could improve the drug’s effectiveness. Those trials, however, used small samples and relied on self-reporting or lenient biological measures to confirm smoking abstinence<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The current study more rigorously tested the hypothesis that a longer run-in (the duration the medication is taken prior to actually quitting) would improve quit rates. The researchers used a larger sample of 320 adult cigarette smokers to see if taking varenicline<\/a> for more than one week prior to quitting would improve abstinence rates, measured in this case through strict bioverification.<\/p>\n
“We always follow the evidence.”<\/p>\n
Source: University at Buffalo<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"