Determinants for successful smoking cessation with bupropion in daily practice.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the patterns of use of bupropion in daily clinical practice and factors which determine successful smoking cessation.

METHODS: Retrospective follow-up study in 36 pharmacies in the Netherlands. Patients who received at least one prescription for bupropion between January and April, 2000 were included. The pharmacists noted several characteristics relating to the patient, use of bupropion and co-medication. Patients were interviewed by telephone about their current and former smoking habits, the success of their smoking cessation and their experiences with bupropion.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Abstinence rate and factors determining successful abstinence after six months.

RESULTS: 322 patients with a least one prescription for bupropion were identified. In 93.5% of patients bupropion was prescribed by the general practitioner. Half of the patients were dispensed 30 or fewer tablets. Pharmacists interviewed 215 (66.8%) patients by telephone. Of these patients 58 (27.0%) still did not smoke six months after the prescription for bupropion. The number of tablets used, lack of co-morbidity, less than two previous attempts to stop smoking and private-insurance were associated with a higher rate of successful abstinence.

CONCLUSION: Most patients do not use bupropion in accordance with the recommended period and did not receive the same degree of additional support provided in clinical trials. Nevertheless 27.0% of patients reported to have stopped smoking six months after the prescription for bupropion. This self-reported abstinence rate is only slightly lower than is reported in literature. This might be partly related to the fact that we did not validate smoking cessation by carbonmonoxide monitoring. Bupropion is not reimbursed in the Netherlands. It is difficult to assess whether patients' self-payment has led to the selection of motivated patients, or has been a barrier to finishing using bupropion.