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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 Jun 14.
Published in final edited form as: Am J Prev Med. 2008 Aug;35(2):158–176. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2008.04.009

Table 7.

Effectiveness and abstinence rates of medications relative to the nicotine patch (n=86 studies)

Medication Number of arms* Estimated odds ratio (95% CI)
Nicotine patch (reference group) 32 1.0
Monotherapies
 Varenicline (2 mg/day) 5 1.6 (1.3, 2.0)
 Nicotine nasal spray 4 1.2 (0.9, 1.6)
 High dose nicotine patch (>25 mg; standard or long-term) 4 1.2 (0.9, 1.6)
 Long-term nicotine gum (>14 weeks) 6 1.2 (0.8, 1.7)
 Varenicline (1 mg/day) 3 1.1 (0.8, 1.6)
 Nicotine Inhaler 6 1.1 (0.8, 1.5)
 Clonidine 3 1.1 (0.6, 2.0)
 bupropion SR 26 1.0 (0.9, 1.2)
 Long-term nicotine patch (>14 weeks) 10 1.0 (0.9, 1.2)
 Nortriptyline 5 0.9 (0.6, 1.4)
 Nicotine Gum 15 0.8 (0.6, 1.0)
Combination therapies
 Patch (long-term; >14 weeks) + NRT (gum or spray) 3 1.9 (1.3, 2.7)
 Patch + bupropion SR 3 1.3 (1.0, 1.8)
 Patch + nortriptyline 2 0.9 (0.6, 1.4)
 Patch + inhaler 2 1.1 (0.7, 1.9)
 Second-generation antidepressants & Patch 3 1.0 (0.6, 1.7)
Medications not shown to be effective
 Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) 3 0.5 (0.4, 0.7)
 Naltrexone 2 0.3 (0.1, 0.6)
*

The term “arms” refers to the separate treatment or control groups comprised by the analyzed studies.