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Comparison of Available Treatments for Tobacco Addiction

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Abstract

Cigarette smoking is a major public health problem that causes more than 5 million deaths annually worldwide. Cigarette smoking is especially common among individuals with psychiatric comorbidity, including individuals with primary psychiatric disorders and other addictions. Effective behavioral and pharmacologic treatments for smoking cessation are available. Behavioral treatments including brief (< 3 min) counseling by physicians are effective. Seven first-line pharmacologic treatments are currently available: five nicotine replacement therapies, bupropion, and varenicline. In addition, clonidine and nortriptyline are second-line treatments for smoking cessation. These treatments increase the chances of quitting smoking by two- to threefold, supporting their use in smokers who are motivated to quit. However, effective treatments for many subpopulations, including smokers with psychiatric comorbidities as well as adolescent, pregnant, or postpartum smokers, remain to be developed and represent an important challenge.

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Acknowledgment

This research was supported by the Veterans Administration Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center and National Institute on Drug Abuse grants K02 DA021304 (to Dr. Sofuoglu) and K12 DA00167 (to Dr. Herman)

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No potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article were reported.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, Yale University, 950 Campbell Avenue, Building 35/116A4, West Haven, CT, 06516, USA

    Aryeh I. Herman & Mehmet Sofuoglu

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  1. Aryeh I. Herman
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  2. Mehmet Sofuoglu
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Correspondence to Mehmet Sofuoglu.

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Herman, A.I., Sofuoglu, M. Comparison of Available Treatments for Tobacco Addiction. Curr Psychiatry Rep 12, 433–440 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-010-0134-6

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