Smoking cessation

Addiction to tobacco-derived nicotine remains highly prevalent in the United States, with 18% using daily, and 53% of those with serious mental illness using daily. While smokers with serious mental illness have been excluded from most large nicotine-dependence treatment studies, a growing evidence base is available to guide clinicians in assisting their patients with psychiatric illness to quit smoking. The aim of this review is to present the evidence on safety and efficacy of smoking cessation interventions for those with serious mental illness...

BACKGROUND: Placebo-controlled trials indicate that cytisine, a partial agonist that binds the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor and is used for smoking cessation, almost doubles the chances of quitting at 6 months. We investigated whether cytisine was at least as effective as nicotine-replacement therapy in helping smokers to quit. METHODS: We conducted a pragmatic, open-label, noninferiority trial in New Zealand in which 1310 adult daily smokers who were motivated to quit and called the national quitline were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive cytisine for 25 days or nicotine-replacement therapy for 8 weeks...

BACKGROUND: Taking regular exercise may help people give up smoking by moderating nicotine withdrawal and cravings, and by helping to manage weight gain. OBJECTIVES: To determine whether exercise-based interventions alone, or combined with a smoking cessation programme, are more effective than a smoking cessation intervention alone. SEARCH METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group Specialized Register in April 2014, and searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and CINAHL Plus in May 2014...