Male and highly nicotine-dependent smokers can benefit immensely from combining two smoking cessation therapies rather than opting for just one, a new study finds.
The study was conducted by researchers from Duke University Medical Center. For the study, researchers enrolled 349 adults who reported smoking 10 or more cigarettes a day but expressed a will to kick the habit. All participants were then asked to fill up a questionnaire that helped researchers measure their level of nicotine dependence. Following this, they were given nicotine patches prior to quitting smoking.
A week later, researchers found that 222 participants failed to cut their smoking by 50 percent. Half of these participants were assigned a combination varenicline (a smoking cessation treatment) and a placebo while the other half were given a combination of two smoking cessation therapies - varenicline and bupropion for 12 weeks.
Researchers followed the participants periodically for six months. They found that 39.8 percent of participants on the combination treatment abstained from smoking at weeks 8-11 after the target quit date, compared to only 25.9 percent taking varenicline alone. The results were more prominent among males and highly nicotine-dependent smokers.
"Highly dependent male smokers had a boost in quit rates from 14 percent on varenicline alone to 61 percent with the combination treatment, which is a dramatic increase," lead author Jed Rose said in a press statement. "While there may be some drawbacks to prescribing two smoking cessation treatments, such as cost or possible side effects, this study gives us a simple strategy to find those who would benefit the most from combined treatment, and spare others who may not benefit."
The most popular smoking cessation therapies are nicotine replacement, bupropion (sold under the brand name Zyban) and varenicline (sold as Chantix). However their success rates have been modest with less than 25 percent of smokers abstaining a year after treatment.
"It's clear that we need to improve success rates for smoking cessation, and it is thought that combining treatments could add to the efficacy," Rose said. "Combining two therapies, especially if they act by different mechanisms, may address different aspects of the addiction."
The study was published online in the American Journal of Psychiatry and supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
