EVarQuit: Extended Pre-quit Varenicline to Assist in Quitting Smoking

Summary

Varenicline is the most effective smoking cessation therapy available. Nevertheless, most smokers using varenicline relapse within the first few months after quitting. Varenicline is hypothesized to help smokers to quit in part by reducing the reinforcing effects of smoking during the standard 1-week pre-quitting treatment phase. Learning theory and previous human and animal research support the hypothesis that a longer period of varenicline treatment prior to the target quit date (TQD) will lead to greater reductions in smoking before quitting, and higher long-term cessation rates, compared to standard varenicline treatment. Building on promising preliminary clinical data, the study tests these hypotheses with a full-scale randomized clinical trial (RCT). 320 treatment-seeking smokers will be randomized to a standard run-in group (3 weeks of placebo, followed by the standard 1 week of pre-TQD varenicline) or an extended run-in group (4 weeks of pre-TQD varenicline). Both groups will receive brief individual cessation counseling and 11 weeks of post-TQD varenicline. The primary outcome measure will be bio-verified continuous abstinence at end-of-treatment (weeks 8-11 post-quit; cessation at 26-weeks post TQD will also be examined. Hypothesized mediating mechanisms (e.g., smoking reinforcement) will be evaluated by behavioral, physiological, and subjective measures assessed both in the lab and using real-world, real-time electronic momentary assessments (EMA). The investigators predict that long-term, bio-verified smoking cessation will be improved among the extended run-in group compared to the standard run-in group. The investigators further predict the improved clinical outcomes with extended run-in varenicline will be explained (or mediated) by greater pre-quit reductions in smoking reinforcement among the extended run-in group compared to the standard run-in group. The significance of this work is clear: The project aims to make best available treatment for smoking cessation even better, using a method that is ripe for dissemination and an approach that will elucidate critical mechanisms to target in the next generation of treatment enhancement.

Timeline

Start

2017-10-01

Primary completion

2021-04-05

Completion

2021-07-08

Publications

• Cooper RK, Gass J, Mahoney MC, Tiffany ST, Colder CR, Maguin E, Schlienz NJ, Lawson SC, Tyndale RF, Sandhur B, Hawk LW. Do lab-based assessments of pretreatment smoking reinforcement and cue-specific craving predict smoking cessation with varenicline? Psychol Addict Behav. 2025 Dec;39(8):713-722. doi: 10.1037/adb0001081. Epub 2025 Jul 28.
• Tonkin S, Gass J, Wray J, Maguin E, Mahoney M, Colder C, Tiffany S, Hawk LW Jr. Evaluating Declines in Compliance With Ecological Momentary Assessment in Longitudinal Health Behavior Research: Analyses From a Clinical Trial. J Med Internet Res. 2023 Jun 22;25:e43826. doi: 10.2196/43826.
• Hawk LW Jr, Tiffany ST, Colder CR, Ashare RL, Wray JM, Tyndale RF, Brandon TH, Mahoney MC. Effect of Extending the Duration of Prequit Treatment With Varenicline on Smoking Abstinence: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2022 Nov 1;5(11):e2241731. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.41731.
• Ferkin AC, Tonkin SS, Maguin E, Mahoney MC, Colder CR, Tiffany ST, Hawk LW. A Psychometric Evaluation of the Stanford Expectations of Treatment Scale (SETS) in the Context of a Smoking Cessation Trial. Nicotine Tob Res. 2022 Nov 12;24(12):1914-1920. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntac187.
• Mahoney MC, Park E, Schlienz NJ, Duerr C, Hawk LW. Transitioning to Remote Clinic Visits in a Smoking Cessation Trial During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Mixed Methods Evaluation. JMIR Form Res. 2021 Apr 30;5(4):e25541. doi: 10.2196/25541.
• Lawson SC, Gass JC, Cooper RK Jr, Tonkin SS, Colder CR, Mahoney MC, Tiffany ST, Hawk LW Jr. The impact of three weeks of pre-quit varenicline on reinforcing value and craving for cigarettes in a laboratory choice procedure. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2021 Feb;238(2):599-609. doi: 10.1007/s00213-020-05713-7. Epub 2020 Nov 21.

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