Treatment for Tobacco Use Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Treatment for Tobacco Use - Essay Example Chantix was developed specifically for smoking cessation and is a highly selective nicotinic acetylcholine receptor partial agonist. Chantix affects the sites in the brain that are affected by nicotine and aid by reducing the craving for nicotine. Being a partial agonist means that is has both a stimulating and a blocking effect on the receptor it is attracted to. Pfizer received a priority FDA review because of its potential to offer substantial improvement in the public health. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), trials took place in 2003-2004 at 6 US and 18 International medical clinics that were experienced in smoking cessation. The participants were chronic smokers who averaged smoking 21 cigarettes per day. The trials were designed as a 12-week treatment program with an extended follow-up period. Participants were given carbon monoxide testing to verify their claims of abstinence. In a trial reported by JAMA, after 52 weeks 43.6% of the participants that received varenicline had continued not to smoke. This compared to 36.9% of the participants that received a placebo. Other studies have reported a success rate of 21.9% for varenicline versus 8.4% for the placebo. The difference has been attributable to the design of the study.