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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | Next >> In one of the two studies, researchers led by David Gonzales at the Oregon Health & Science University, in Portland, compared the effectiveness of Chantix, Zyban and a placebo in helping 1,025 adult smokers quit over the course of one year.
At the 12-week point, 44 percent of those taking Chantix had remained smoke-free for at least the prior month, the researchers reported, compared to 29.5 percent of those taking Zyban and just under 18 percent of those on a placebo.
Long-term quit rates were lower. According to the study, the rate of "continuous abstinence" from weeks nine to 52 was lower for people using all three interventions: just under 22 percent for Chantix, about 16 percent for Zyban, and 8.4 percent for those on a placebo.
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A second, similar trial of 1,027 smokers, this one led by Douglas Jorenby of the University of Wisconsin, found almost identical results.
Finally, a third trial of more than 1,900 smokers living in seven countries looked specifically at the issue of relapse.
All of the smokers first underwent 12 weeks of Chantix therapy. About two-thirds of that group (1,236) were deemed to have kicked the habit by the end of the three-month period.
The researchers then gave these new "quitters" either Chantix or a placebo daily for the next 12 weeks.
By the end of the full 24-week study period, 70.5 percent of people who continued on Chantix remained non-smokers, the researchers reported, compared to just under half (49.6 percent) of those who stopped using the drug at week 12.
"An additional 12 weeks of treatment was more beneficial than placebo, both to the end of treatment and to one year," study lead researcher Dr. Serena Tonstad, an attending physician in the department of preventive cardiology at Ulleval University Hospital in Oslo, Norway, told HealthDay at the AHA meeting.
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