High-dose nicotine patch therapy for smokers with a history of alcohol dependence: 36-week outcomes
Received 21 November 2005; accepted 6 January 2006.
Abstract
This study reports findings from an investigation of the efficacy of high-dose nicotine patch (NP) therapy for heavy smokers with a history of alcohol dependence. One hundred thirty participants were randomly assigned to 42 or 21 mg of transdermal nicotine. Follow-up assessments were conducted at 4, 12, 24, and 36 weeks. Differences between dose conditions were nonsignificant, although, unexpectedly, outcomes favored participants in the 21-mg NP condition. Nicotine abstinence rates in the 21- and 42-mg NP conditions on Week 36 follow-up were 16.9% and 9.2%, respectively. Patch condition did not interact with severity of nicotine dependence. However, nicotine abstinence at follow-up was related to a longer length of alcohol abstinence. No evidence was found for better outcomes as a function of the percentage of baseline cotinine replaced by NPs. Future research should focus primarily on investigating ways to improve smoking quit rates for smokers in early alcohol recovery.
aDepartment of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, MA 02118, USA
bEdith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Administration Medical Center, Bedford, MA 01730, USA
cCenter for Alcohol and Addictions Studies, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
dSchool of Dental Medicine, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02115, USA
eVeterans Administration Medical Center, Providence, RI 02908, USA
Corresponding author. Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, MA 02118, USA.
A limited portion of the manuscript was presented as an abstract at the annual conference of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (New Orleans, LA, March 2003).
ABSTRACT