Heavy Smokers, Smoking Cessation, and Clonidine: Results of a Double-blind, Randomized Trial

• Published in: JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association Vol. 259; no. 19; pp. 2863 - 2866
• Main Authors: Glassman, Alexander H, Stetner, Fay, Walsh, B. Timothy, Raizman, Pamela S, Fleiss, Joseph L, Cooper, Thomas B, Covey, Lirio S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Medical Association 20-05-1988
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Clonidine - therapeutic use; Depressive Disorder - complications; Double-Blind Method; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Male; Medical research; Middle Aged; Pharmaceuticals industry; Random Allocation; Sex Factors; Smoking; Smoking - psychology; Smoking - therapy; Substance Withdrawal Syndrome - prevention & control
• ISSN: 0098-7484; 1538-3598
• DOI: 10.1001/jama.1988.03720190031026

Seventy-one heavy smokers who had failed in previous attempts to stop smoking participated in a randomized clinical trial to test the efficacy of clonidine as an aid in smoking cessation. The success rate in clonidine-treated subjects (verified by serum cotinine concentration) was more than twice that in the placebo-treated subjects. When the data were stratified by gender, a strong effect present in women was not apparent in men. After six months, cessation rates remained significantly higher among smokers treated with clonidine than those receiving placebo. The data also revealed an unexpectedly high prevalence (61%) of a history of major depression in this sample and a significant negative effect of such a history on cessation regardless of treatment. These findings, highly suggestive of an important role of clonidine in smoking cessation, warrant further studies to establish the long-term (≥12 months) efficacy of this drug and to replicate the association between nicotine dependence and depression.(JAMA 1988;259:2863-2866)