BACKGROUND Greece has the highest proportion of smokers in the European Union with 42% of Greeks admitting that they smoke, based on a 2009 survey. This post-hoc analysis of a prospective, observational study evaluated the effectiveness and safety profile of the smoking cessation aid varenicline, as well as potential predictors of quit success in a Greek population. METHODS Participants were ...

BaCKgRound: The effects of varenicline, an effective drug for smoking cessation, on atrioventricular and ventricular conductance remain unknown. oBjeCTive: To evaluate the effects of varenicline on heart rate, PR interval, QT interval and QT dispersion (QTd). MeTHodS: A total of 60 smokers were prospectively enrolled in the present study. Twelve-lead electrocardiogram recordings were obtained f...

INTRODUCTION Cigarette smoking continues to be the leading cause of preventable death and is the main risk factor of major diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The best treatment to help smokers quit is a combination of behavioural support with pharmacotherapy. Varenicline is the newest drug on the market and has been shown to be effective in the general smoking popula...

OBJECTIVE To determine the risk of neuropsychiatric adverse events associated with use of varenicline compared with placebo in randomised controlled trials. DESIGN Systematic review and meta-analysis comparing study effects using two summary estimates in fixed effects models, risk differences, and Peto odds ratios. DATA SOURCES Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, the Cochrane Central Register of Con...

OBJECTIVE To assess the efficacy and safety of varenicline (a licensed cigarette smoking cessation aid) in helping users of smokeless tobacco to quit. DESIGN Double blind, placebo controlled, parallel group, multicentre, randomised controlled trial. SETTING Medical clinics (mostly primary care) in Norway and Sweden. PARTICIPANTS Men and women aged ≥18 who used smokeless tobacco at least e...

Results: A new drug called varenicline has recently been introduced to assist smoking cessation. It is an α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor partial agonist. Varenicline has a unique action that relieves the cravings and withdrawal symptoms that occur during smoking abstinence, while blocking the receptor and preventing any reward from additional smoking. It has been shown to be efficacious ...

UNLABELLED A prospective pragmatic interventional study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of varenicline for smoking cessation among a cohort of motivated smokers attending two smoking cessation clinics. Smokers between 18 and 65 years who had smoked 10 or more cigarettes per day were included. All participants received cognitive-behavioural varenicline according to approved dose and ...

Smoking remains a major public health challenge. Nicotine is the main psychoactive drug responsible for the addictive nature of tobacco, explaining why many smokers fail to quit without assistance. Pharmacotherapy for smoking cessation is deemed effective for a broad range of populations and should be routinely offered to smokers interested in making a quit attempt. Varenicline, a partial agoni...

IMPORTANCE Behavioral approaches and pharmacotherapy are of proven benefit in assisting smokers to quit, but it is unclear whether combining nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) with varenicline to improve abstinence is effective and safe. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy and safety of combining varenicline and a nicotine patch vs varenicline alone in smoking cessation. DESIGN, SETTING, AND...

BACKGROUND Smoking is the leading preventable cause of illness and premature death worldwide. Some medications have been proven to help people to quit, with three licensed for this purpose in Europe and the USA: nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), bupropion, and varenicline. Cytisine (a treatment pharmacologically similar to varenicline) is also licensed for use in Russia and some of the former...