Counseling With Medication Bupropion Could Help Teenagers Give Up Smoking

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Main Category: Smoking / Quit Smoking
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health;  Psychology / Psychiatry;  Alcohol / Addiction / Illegal Drugs
Article Date: 06 Nov 2007 - 14:00 PST

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Bupropion in combination with counseling seems to help teenagers give up smoking more successfully in the short term, according to an article in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine (JAMA/Archives).

Approximately one quarter of all American high school students are cigarette smokers, the authors explain. A large number of teenage smokers would like to give up. However, according to recent studies, only approximately 4% manage to successfully quite each year. Bupropion, an antidepressant drug, has been shown to help adults give up smoking. Bupropion is also used to treat attention deficit disorders in kids.

Myra L. Muramoto, M.D., M.P.H., Scott J. Leischow, Ph.D., University of Arizona, Tucson, and team carried out a clinical trial with 312 teenagers aged 14-17. They all smoked at least six cigarettes per day and had tried to give up at least twice. They were randomly selected to receive 105 teens (150 milligrams) or 104 teens (300 milligrams) of bupropion, or a placebo (103 teens). They all visited the clinic once a week for a total of seven weeks - six weeks included treatment plus one week post-treatment. They also attended individual cessation counseling sessions lasting 10 to 20 minutes each. They were followed-up by telephone after 12 weeks, and then again face-to-face after 26 weeks.

The 300-milligram group had higher quit rates than the placebo group for every week, except for week four. 5.6% continued not to smoke after six weeks from the placebo group, compared to 10.7% in the 150-milligram bupropion group and 14.5% in the 300-milligram bupropion group.

At 26 weeks the quit rate among the 300-milligram group was significantly higher than the placebo group and the 150 millgram group. The researchers checked quit rates by measuring the level of cotinine in the participants' urine. Cotinine is a byproduct of nicotine.

The authors noted that although those on 300 milligrams of bupropion had a better quit rate than those in the other groups, adults on 300 milligrams of bupropion have a significantly higher quit rate. It is possible that younger smokers may need a longer treatment period.

The authors conclude "Nonetheless, this study provides hope for helping a generation of smokers quit before they become adults. These results are critically important because few effective treatment options are available for adolescent smokers who want to quit."

"Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial of 2 Dosages of Sustained-Release Bupropion for Adolescent Smoking Cessation"
Myra L. Muramoto, MD, MPH; Scott J. Leischow, PhD; Duane Sherrill, PhD; Eva Matthews, MPH; Louise J. Strayer, BSc, RN, MSc
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2007;161(11):1068-1074.
Click here to view abstract online

Written by - Christian Nordqvist
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