Tobacco smoking remains the single most preventable cause of morbidity and mortality in developed countries and poses a significant threat across developing countries where tobacco use prevalence is increasing. Nicotine dependence is a chronic disease often requiring multiple attempts to quit; repeated interventions with pharmacotherapeutic aids have become more popular as part of cessation therapies.

A new review to summarize the existing and developing pharmacotherapeutic and other options for smoking cessation was described in the Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment paper “Current and Emerging Pharmacotherapeutic Options for Smoking Cessation.” The study identifies gaps in current clinical practice, and provides recommendations for future evaluations and research. Author Dr Kristin Carson explains the background and results of their study.

How did you become interested in studying pharmacotherapeutic options for smoking cessation?

As a respiratory scientist tobacco use plays a significant role in the conditions and diseases many of our patients present with. Continued smoking even in elderly tobacco users adversely affects their health and medical treatment, therefore cessation at any age is fundamental to improving health and wellbeing amongst these patients. Pharmacotherapeutic options for smoking cessation are one strategy that has proved efficacy to assist tobacco users to quit smoking and as such consolidation of this evidence for clinical practice and research was warranted.

What was previously known about smoking cessation?  How has your work in this area advanced understanding of it?

There are substantial amounts of research and clinical initiatives published and underway on tobacco use, cessation and prevention programs. As such it can be difficult for researchers, policy makers, clinicians and consumers to keep abreast of all the latest information within this arena, particularly if it is not their primary area of expertise. Our paper attempts to consolidate this evidence for use by such individuals to provide a broad summary of evidence to date and also to identify gaps in the current evidence for future research.

What do regard as being the most important aspect of the results of your research?

The most important aspect of this evidence consolidation is the identification of gaps in current research and practice. This review of the literature should be used by individuals with an interest in tobacco, policy and tobacco related diseases to advance the field and address the gaps in the literature.

What was the greatest difficulty you encountered in studying existing and developing pharmacotherapeutic and other options for smoking cessation?

The large amount of evidence to examine in this area was difficult to consolidate in a precise yet usable format for use by a broad cross-section of individuals. However, we feel that we have achieved this objective and we hope that many people will find the information useful.

The paper Current and Emerging Pharmacotherapeutic Options for Smoking Cessation is freely available to download, comment on, and share. For more information on author Kristin Carson please visit her Research Gate page.

share on