A major new scientific review of the evidence published in the journal dependence identified three main strategies for quitting smoking. The lead author of the book is Jonathan Livingstone-Banks from the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences from the University of Oxford (United Kingdom).
These data are fundamental given that lung cancer is one of the main causes of cancer mortality in Spain and its incidence has increased in recent years, especially in women.
Historically, men They have been more affected by lung cancer due to higher smoking rates. However, the incidence in men has begun to stabilize or even decline in recent years, with a rate of about 65 cases per 100,000 men.
However, in womenThe incidence in women has increased significantly in recent decades. The rate of lung cancer in women has increased, with approximately 28 cases per 100,000 women in 2022. This increase is linked to the increase in smoking among women in recent generations.
For all these reasons, in the above-mentioned strategies, firstly, vareniclinea prescription drug sold under brand names Chantix and Champixamong others. Then highlight cytisinea herbal compound available on prescription in the UK, in Canada as an over-the-counter natural health product (Cravv) and throughout Central and Eastern Europe.
Finally, he discusses e-cigarettes with nicotine. These medications work best when combined with behavioral support, such as counseling. Bupropion and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) They are also effective, especially TRN Fixes associated with fast-acting forms such as chewing gum. There is strong evidence to support behavioral counseling and financial incentives to quit smoking, even without additional medications.
The Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group (Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group, CTAG) has been conducting systematic reviews of the highest quality for nearly 30 years. This summary describes the main findings of the fourteen Cochrane Reviews published by CTAG between 2021 and 2023. Three Cochrane Reviews included in this summary are particularly noteworthy:
The updated review of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) for smoking cessation found high-certainty evidence that combining a fast-acting form of NRT (gum, lozenges, sprays) with NRT patches helped more people quit smoking than NRT alone.
Additionally, e-cigarettes for smoking cessation is a constantly evolving systematic review: the review authors search for new studies every month and update the review whenever new data emerge. The latest update concluded that there was high-certainty evidence that e-cigarettes with increased quit rates compared to nicotine replacement therapies and moderate-certainty evidence that they increase quit rates compared to non-nicotine e-cigarettes.
Pharmacological interventions
Regarding pharmacological and e-cigarette interventions for smoking cessation, it included all medications licensed as smoking cessation treatments worldwide, as well as e-cigarettes with or without nicotine.The review included 319 studies (157,179 participants)The most effective interventions were nicotine e-cigarettes, varenicline and cytisine, all of which had high-certainty evidence, followed closely by combination nicotine replacement therapy (i.e. using a patch together with some form of rapid-acting nicotine replacement therapy).
Similarly, partial nicotine receptor agonists (varenicline and cytisine) quitting smoking has been found to occur in studies directly comparing cytisine and varenicline, There may be no difference between the two drugs for stopping smoking. The review included 75 trials.
Jonathan Livingstone-Banks says: “Quitting smoking is hard, and some people find it harder than others, but tobacco is particularly deadly among legal consumer products.”So it’s important to seek help to quit smoking. “There are a variety of effective forms of smoking cessation aids, and cytisine, varenicline, and e-cigarettes are evidence-based ways to significantly increase people’s chances of successfully quitting smoking.”
