IMPORTANCE Smoking cessation medications are routinely used in health care; it is vital to identify medications that most effectively treat this leading cause of preventable mortality. OBJECTIVE To compare the efficacies of varenicline, combination nicotine replacement therapy (C-NRT), and the nicotine patch for 26-week quit rates. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Three-group randomized in...

CONTEXT The majority of cigarette smokers who achieve abstinence relapse within the first year and require many attempts before achieving permanent abstinence. Evidence to support pharmacological treatment for relapse prevention is insufficient. OBJECTIVE To determine whether smokers who quit after 12 weeks of treatment with varenicline, a selective alpha4beta2 nicotinic acetylcholine recepto...

present a meta-analysis assessing the risk of serious adverse cardiovascular events associated with the use of varenicline for smoking cessation. The paper raises additional questions about a drug that has already come under scrutiny by the US Food and Drug Administration for neuropsychiatric safety concerns, and within the past month, the drug has been the focus of another warning regarding an...

Varenicline (Chantix[R]) is a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor partial agonist used to aid smoking cessation. Adverse psychiatric and behavioral effects of the drug are recognized and national drug monitoring has included reports of tardive dyskinesia, but no cases have been described in the literature. We now report the first two cases of varenicline-related withdrawal emergent dyskinesias.

OBJECTIVE To examine associations between varenicline and the incidence of a range of adverse outcomes. DESIGN Population based cohort study using within person analyses to control for confounding by indication. SETTING Whole population of Sweden. PARTICIPANTS 7,917,436 people aged 15 and over, of whom 69,757 were treated with varenicline between 2006 and 2009. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Inc...

Treating tobacco dependence is the most effective way to reduce tobacco-related death and disability. Counseling and pharmacotherapy have been shown to increase tobacco abstinence rates among smokers. Varenicline is the most effective monotherapy treatment for tobacco dependence; however, it is prescribed less often than indicated, and adherence is less than optimal. We conducted a literature r...

The mainstay in smoking cessation is counselling in combination with varenicline, nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) or bupropion SR. Varenicline and combination of two NRTs is equally effective, while varenicline alone is more effective than either NRT or bupropion SR. NRT is extremely safe but cardiovascular and psychiatric adverse events with varenicline have been reported. These treatments ...

This study examined mechanisms by which nicotine (1.78 mg/kg base s.c.) produces discriminative stimulus effects in rhesus monkeys. In addition to nicotine, various test compounds were studied including other nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonists (varenicline and cytisine), antagonists [mecamylamine and the α4β2 receptor-selective antagonist dihydro-β-erythroidine (DHβE)], a nicotinic acety...

BACKGROUND There have been postmarketing reports of adverse cardiovascular events associated with the use of varenicline, a widely used smoking cessation drug. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials to ascertain the serious adverse cardiovascular effects of varenicline compared with placebo among tobacco users. METHODS We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, t...

BACKGROUND Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and varenicline are both effective in helping smokers quit. There is growing interest in combining the two treatments to improve treatment outcomes, but no experimental data exist on whether this is efficacious. This double-blind randomised controlled trial was designed to evaluate whether adding nicotine patches to varenicline improves withdrawal r...