E-cigarettes, varenicline and cytisine are the most effective stop-smoking aids, analysis of over 150,000 smokers reveals

Key Points  Comprehensive study reveals nicotine e-cigarettes, varenicline and cytisine are the stop-smoking aids most likely to help people quit smoking.On average, for every 100 people trying to quit, around 14 are likely to succeed using an e-cigarette, varenicline or cytisine in any given quit attempt. This is compared to 6 in 100 who are likely to quit without using any aids.Dual nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) methods, like combining a patch with gum, may be almost as effective, with approximately 12 in 100 people likely to successfully quit. However, this estimate is less certain than those for the other stop-smoking aids.Using only one form of NRT, such as a patch alone, leads to around 9 in 100 people successfully quitting.The advanced " component network meta-analysis " (CNMA) approach analysed over 300 clinical trials to compare the effectiveness of various cessation methods.Cytisine, a highly effective smoking cessation medicine, is highlighted but is unavailable in most countries, including the UK. Many countries also have supply issues with varenicline currently.A comprehensive new Cochrane analysis has found that nicotine e-cigarettes, varenicline and cytisine are the most effective options currently available for helping smokers quit long-term (going at least six months without smoking). This is closely followed by using two forms of nicotine replacement therapy at the same time, such as a nicotine patch alongside gum, lozenges or nasal sprays. The researc...
Source: Cochrane News and Events - Category: Information Technology Authors: Source Type: news