Varenicline Augmentation of Patch Outcomes in Heavy Drinkers' Smoking Cessation

Summary

The purpose of this study is to learn if the combination of a study drug and patch is more effective in helping heavy drinkers stop smoking than just the patch alone The study drug, varenicline, has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help people stop smoking, but it is not known if the addition of varenicline to standard smoking cessation treatment with nicotine patches will help people stop smoking who are regular, frequent drinkers. This study is being done because cigarette smoking is the number one preventable cause of death and disease in the United States.

Timeline

Start

2018-03-29

Primary completion

2020-09-30

Completion

2020-10-15

Publications

• Background Coe JW, Brooks PR, Vetelino MG, Wirtz MC, Arnold EP, Huang J, Sands SB, Davis TI, Lebel LA, Fox CB, Shrikhande A, Heym JH, Schaeffer E, Rollema H, Lu Y, Mansbach RS, Chambers LK, Rovetti CC, Schulz DW, Tingley FD 3rd, O'Neill BT. Varenicline: an alpha4beta2 nicotinic receptor partial agonist for smoking cessation. J Med Chem. 2005 May 19;48(10):3474-7. doi: 10.1021/jm050069n.
• Background Perkins KA, Mercincavage M, Fonte CA, Lerman C. Varenicline's effects on acute smoking behavior and reward and their association with subsequent abstinence. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2010 May;210(1):45-51. doi: 10.1007/s00213-010-1816-9. Epub 2010 Mar 20.
• Background Tapper AR, McKinney SL, Nashmi R, Schwarz J, Deshpande P, Labarca C, Whiteaker P, Marks MJ, Collins AC, Lester HA. Nicotine activation of alpha4* receptors: sufficient for reward, tolerance, and sensitization. Science. 2004 Nov 5;306(5698):1029-32. doi: 10.1126/science.1099420.
• Background Jorenby DE, Hays JT, Rigotti NA, Azoulay S, Watsky EJ, Williams KE, Billing CB, Gong J, Reeves KR; Varenicline Phase 3 Study Group. Efficacy of varenicline, an alpha4beta2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor partial agonist, vs placebo or sustained-release bupropion for smoking cessation: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2006 Jul 5;296(1):56-63. doi: 10.1001/jama.296.1.56.
• Background Koegelenberg CF, Noor F, Bateman ED, van Zyl-Smit RN, Bruning A, O'Brien JA, Smith C, Abdool-Gaffar MS, Emanuel S, Esterhuizen TM, Irusen EM. Efficacy of varenicline combined with nicotine replacement therapy vs varenicline alone for smoking cessation: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA. 2014 Jul;312(2):155-61. doi: 10.1001/jama.2014.7195.
• Theodoulou A, Fanshawe TR, Leavens E, Theodoulou E, Wu AD, Heath L, Stewart C, Nollen N, Ahluwalia JS, Butler AR, Hajizadeh A, Thomas J, Lindson N, Hartmann-Boyce J. Differences in the effectiveness of individual-level smoking cessation interventions by socioeconomic status. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2025 Jan 27;1(1):CD015120. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD015120.pub2.
• King A, Vena A, de Wit H, Grant JE, Cao D. Effect of Combination Treatment With Varenicline and Nicotine Patch on Smoking Cessation Among Smokers Who Drink Heavily: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2022 Mar 1;5(3):e220951. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.0951.
• Hartmann-Boyce J, Theodoulou A, Farley A, Hajek P, Lycett D, Jones LL, Kudlek L, Heath L, Hajizadeh A, Schenkels M, Aveyard P. Interventions for preventing weight gain after smoking cessation. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021 Oct 6;10(10):CD006219. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD006219.pub4.

Drugs

Indications