Background
In a previous open-label, noninferiority trial, cytisine was found to be superior to nicotine-replacement therapy (NRT) in helping smokers quit smoking. There is no other study comparing the abstinence effectiveness of these medications. In Russia, cytisine and NRT are widely available as over-the-counter medications. A real-life study could provide clinicians/researchers with useful information as to the effectiveness of these medications among the general population. The present study aimed to compare past year 30-day and 90-day self-reported smoking abstinence rates for self-reported cytisine and NRT use in individuals who wanted to quit smoking, using a representative sample of the Russian Federation population.
Methods
We selected individuals who have tried to quit smoking and who have used cytisine (n =88) or NRT (n=186) in the past year from a Russian nationally representative household survey of adults 15 years of age or older - 2009 Russian Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS). All analyses were performed in STATA software taking into account complex survey design features. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to compare past-year use of cytisine and NRT for 30-day and 90-day self-reported smoking abstinence rates.
Results
The NRT 30-day and 90-day self-reported smoking abstinence rates were 36.2% and 10.9%, respectively. The cytisine 30-day and 90-day self-reported smoking abstinence rates were 50.4% and 25.3%, respectively. After adjusting the logistic regression for other possible confounders, such as sociodemographic, smoking behavior and treatment variables, cytisine was more effective than NRT only for the 90-day smoking abstinence rate.
Conclusion
Just one trial has compared cytisine with NRT. In this context, it is important to verify the superiority of cytisine on NRT for achieving 90-day smoking abstinence, using real-life data from a representative sample of the general population of a country where cytisine and NRT are widely available as over-the-counter medications. These results and those from previous studies call for cytisine licensing worldwide, especially outside Eastern Europe.
Keywords
Smoking Cessation, cytisine, epidemiology, nicotine replacement treatment
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© 2016 Published by Elsevier Inc.
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