By Kelly Young
NEJM Journal Watch
Edited by Susan Sadoughi, MD, and Richard Saitz, MD, MPH, FACP, DFASAM
Varenicline is strongly recommended over the nicotine patch and bupropion for adults who are trying to quit smoking, according to new guidelines from the American Thoracic Society published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Among the other recommendations:
- Varenicline is also strongly recommended over the patch in patients with a comorbid psychiatric condition and for those who aren’t ready to quit.
- For patients who are starting a controller therapy (e.g., varenicline, nicotine patch, bupropion), a treatment duration greater than 12 weeks is strongly recommended over 6-12 weeks.
- Varenicline is recommended over e-cigarettes for smoking cessation, but the authors caution that if adverse events continue to be reported with e-cigarettes, the strength of the recommendation could change.
- In another recommendation, they say that the use of varenicline plus a nicotine patch is preferred over varenicline monotherapy.
American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine guidelines