Antidepressant May Help Women Quit Smoking
Drug Relieves Anxiety, Tension
POSTED: 4:23 p.m. EDT May 1, 2002
Women: trying to quit smoking? Perhaps an antidepressant will do the trick.
A smoking cessation medication that is also used to treat depression may be a better choice than nicotine replacement therapy for women who want to quit smoking for good, a new study found.
Guidelines used by doctors nationwide to help patients quit using tobacco recommend a combination of counseling and medication. But recent research published in the May issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine shows that women may not respond as well as men to nicotine replacement therapy, the most frequently purchased medication.
David Gonzales of Oregon Health & Science University's Smoking Cessation Center examined the effects of the medication bupropion (marketed under the name Zyban), which contains no nicotine and is also prescribed as an antidepressant (Wellbutrin).
In general, women are less likely than men to succeed in quitting, and those who do quit are more likely to start smoking again.
But in the study, Gonazales and his colleagues found that women and men are equally likely to quit smoking after seven weeks of bupropion treatment. And after one and two years of taking the bupropion treatments, women and men are equally likely to stay away from cigarettes, as are men and women who switch to a placebo.
The only significant difference in relapse patterns, Gonzales said, is linked to the length of bupropion treatment. Quitters who take bupropion for only seven weeks are more likely to start smoking again, and tend to relapse sooner, than quitters who take the medication for a full year.
He found that bupropion might be more effective than nicotine replacement for women because it may better control some of the symptoms that are particularly common among women when they give up cigarettes: depression, anticipation of anxiety and tension, and concern about weight gain.
Another possible explanation, Gonzales observes, is that bupropion often makes smoking less enjoyable.
"In this and other trials of bupropion ... there have been ... reports of a change of taste in cigarettes," he said.
Previous research suggests that the normal taste and smell of cigarettes are part of what makes them pleasurable for women, but not for men.
The study was partially funded by GlaxoSmithKline Inc., the makers of Zyban and Wellbutrin.
Guidelines used by doctors nationwide to help patients quit using tobacco recommend a combination of counseling and medication. But recent research published in the May issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine shows that women may not respond as well as men to nicotine replacement therapy, the most frequently purchased medication.
David Gonzales of Oregon Health & Science University's Smoking Cessation Center examined the effects of the medication bupropion (marketed under the name Zyban), which contains no nicotine and is also prescribed as an antidepressant (Wellbutrin).
In general, women are less likely than men to succeed in quitting, and those who do quit are more likely to start smoking again.
But in the study, Gonazales and his colleagues found that women and men are equally likely to quit smoking after seven weeks of bupropion treatment. And after one and two years of taking the bupropion treatments, women and men are equally likely to stay away from cigarettes, as are men and women who switch to a placebo.
The only significant difference in relapse patterns, Gonzales said, is linked to the length of bupropion treatment. Quitters who take bupropion for only seven weeks are more likely to start smoking again, and tend to relapse sooner, than quitters who take the medication for a full year.
He found that bupropion might be more effective than nicotine replacement for women because it may better control some of the symptoms that are particularly common among women when they give up cigarettes: depression, anticipation of anxiety and tension, and concern about weight gain.
Another possible explanation, Gonzales observes, is that bupropion often makes smoking less enjoyable.
"In this and other trials of bupropion ... there have been ... reports of a change of taste in cigarettes," he said.
Previous research suggests that the normal taste and smell of cigarettes are part of what makes them pleasurable for women, but not for men.
The study was partially funded by GlaxoSmithKline Inc., the makers of Zyban and Wellbutrin.
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