Cystisine versus varenicline for smoking cessation

Professor Michael Farrell
Project leader
Michael.farrell@unsw.ed.au

Project Details

Tobacco smoking is a leading cause of preventable disease and death. Smoking rates are higher among disadvantaged Australians and facilitating smoking cessation in this group is a national health priority. A number of strategies can increase cessation success, but relatively few smokers use proven effective strategies on any given quit attempt. New strategies that have a greater population wide health benefit are needed, yet there are few effective evidence-based interventions.

Worldwide scant data exists on cytisine's efficacy compared to frontline marketed smoking cessation medications; at the exception of one RCT that demonstrated superiority with nicotine patch.

Given that no trials have compared cytisine to varenicline, the aim of this study is to conduct a world-first CONSORT-adherent, pragmatic, single-blind, noninferiority randomised controlled trial (RCT).