Varenicline for the Treatment of Smokeless Tobacco

Summary

Varenicline (Chantix™, Pfizer) is a novel selective nicotinic receptor partial agonist with specificity for the α4β2 nicotine acetylcholine receptor that has demonstrated remarkable efficacy for increasing long-term tobacco abstinence rates in cigarette smokers. The novel mechanism of action of varenicline potentially circumvents the limitations of using nicotine replacement therapy or bupropion pharmacotherapy in ST users. The overall goal of this line of research is to develop effective pharmacologic treatments for ST users to increase long-term (≥ 6 months) abstinence rates. The central hypothesis of this application is that varenicline is efficacious for the treatment of ST users.

Timeline

Start

2009-02

Primary completion

2010-10

Completion

2011-01

Publications

• Results Ebbert JO, Croghan IT, Severson HH, Schroeder DR, Hays JT. A pilot study of the efficacy of varenicline for the treatment of smokeless tobacco users in Midwestern United States. Nicotine Tob Res. 2011 Sep;13(9):820-6. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntr078. Epub 2011 Apr 18.
• Livingstone-Banks J, Fanshawe TR, Thomas KH, Theodoulou A, Hajizadeh A, Hartman L, Lindson N. Nicotine receptor partial agonists for smoking cessation. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2023 May 5;5(5):CD006103. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD006103.pub8.

Drugs

Indications