Medication Therapy may help Smokers Quit Gradually

Washington – Anti-smoking drug varenicline may help smokers gradually cut back their cigarette consumption before being ready or able to quit, a study said Tuesday.

The study, published in the U.S. Journal of the American Medical Association, enrolled more than 1,500 smokers in the U.S. and abroad between 2011 and 2013. They were randomized to either six months of varenicline or placebo.

Eligible participants, who were 18 years or older, smoked an average of 10 or more cigarettes per day with no continuous abstinence period longer than three months in the past year, and were not willing or able to quit smoking within the next month but were willing to work toward the goal of quitting in the next three months.

The study shows that 760 participants receiving varenicline were greater than four times more likely to quit than the 750 participants receiving placebo at six months and over two times more likely to quit than participants receiving a placebo at 12 months.

“This study is important because this opens the door to treatment for approximately 14 million smokers who have no intention of quitting in the next 30 days but are willing to reduce their smoking rate while working toward a quit attempt,” said Dr. John Ebbert, associate director for research at the Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Center and lead author of the report, adding: “In the past, these smokers may have not received medication therapy, and we want them to know that different approaches are available”.