A combo of varenicline and bupropion helps smokers kick the butt!

A team of researchers has found that among cigarette smokers, combining the smoking cessation medications varenicline and bupropion, compared with varenicline alone, resulted in higher smoking abstine

By: Agencies | | Published: January 13, 2014 10:45 am

A team of researchers has found that among cigarette smokers, combining the smoking cessation medications varenicline and bupropion, compared with varenicline alone, resulted in higher smoking abstinence rates. Also Read - 'Casual' smokers may also have nicotine addiction: Home remedies to help you quit smoking

Also Read - Finding it hard to quit smoking? Relocate to a greener neighbourhood

‘We were interested in seeing if combining different medications together can improve the ability of patients to quit over and above single drug therapy,’ lead author Jon Ebbert, M.D., Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Center, said. ‘What we found was an increase in quit rates, and the increase in quit rates was particularly strong in heavier and more dependent smokers.’ Also Read - Ganesh Chaturthi 2020: 4 reasons an eco-friendly Ganesha is good for you

The study authors looked at the efficacy of combining the medications varenicline and bupropion SR (sustained-release) for smoking cessation, compared with varenicline alone (monotherapy).

In addition, the research team analyzed data based on participants’ smoking rate and level of nicotine dependence.

Cigarette smokers were randomized to 12 weeks of varenicline and bupropion SR or varenicline and placebo with follow-up through 52 weeks. The primary outcome was smoking abstinence rates at week 12, defined as prolonged abstinence (no smoking from two weeks after the target quit date) and seven-day point-prevalence abstinence (no smoking past seven days). Outcomes were confirmed with an exhaled breath test for carbon monoxide.

Combination therapy was associated with significantly higher prolonged smoking abstinence rates at 12 (53 percent vs. 43.2 percent) and 26 weeks (36.6 percent vs. 27.6 percent) compared with varenicline alone. (Read: 5 Ds to start you on the path to quit smoking)

No significant differences were observed between the two groups at any time point for seven-day point-prevalence smoking abstinence. Anxiety was reported more commonly with combination therapy than with varenicline monotherapy, as were depressive symptoms.

The study was published in journal JAMA.

Different ways to quit smoking

One has to remember that very few people manage to quit in their first attempt. So here are the various smoking cessation techniques:

Cold Turkey The oldest and most successful method is going ‘cold turkey’ that is quitting smoking without taking any substitute for nicotine. 75% people who’ve quit smoking claim to have done so without the aid of any aid or supplement. Coupled with therapy and intervention cold turkey is supposed to be the best way to quit. There are various websites and helplines which help people quit without the aid of any medicines. Most replacement therapies look to chemically substitute the nicotine hit of smoking but it just means switching from one addiction to another. One of the champions of cold turkey was Allen Carr, a chain smoker who quit smoking and went on to write a book entitled The Easy Way to Quit Smoking which is the most popular book on quitting smoking in the world. Many people have quit smoking after reading his book and this list include celebrities like Ashton Kutcher, Britney Spears, Richard Branson, Anthony Hopkins and closer home Mahesh Babu and Hrithik Roshan. Allen Carr’s basic principle was despite overwhelming evidence which points out the hazards of smoking people don’t quit because they think of quitting as ‘giving in’ or giving up.

Nicotine Replacement Therapies (NRT) NRT looks to take care of nicotine craving by providing a substitute source without the harmful effects of tobacco. It works on the principle that though nicotine is the ‘addictive’ part of cigarettes the more dangerous ones are tar, carbon monoxide and other gases. There are various products under this Nicorette umbrella which look to aid cessation including chewing gums, lozenges, nasal sprays, patches and inhalers. Some electronic cigarettes also have nicotine filters. Real world studies have shown that NRT’s aren’t as effective as pharmaceutical companies claim. In the real world, 95% who have taken OTC medication have relapsed. (Read: Different ways to quit smoking)

Source: ANI

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Published : January 13, 2014 10:45 am

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