Varenicline as a smoking cessation aid in a Greek population: a subanalysis of an observational study

Participants were prescribed varenicline according to the recommendations of the European Summary of Product Characteristics (1 mg twice daily). The 7-day point prevalence of abstinence at Week 12 was determined based on verbal reporting using a nicotine use inventory. Abstinence was confirmed by carbon monoxide measurements of exhaled air at the last visit of the study. The safety profile of varenicline was also assessed.At baseline, the Greek subsample (n = 196) had a mean age of 42.6 years, with 54.6% of them being men. Participants had a smoking history of 23.5 years and a Fagerstr？m Test for Nicotine Dependence total score of 6.6. After 12 weeks of varenicline therapy, 70.4% (95% CI, 64.0-76.7) of all participants had quit smoking. This increased to 86.2% among participants who had taken the study medication for 80% of the planned number of treatment days. Age was a significant predictor of quit success. The most frequently observed treatment-emergent adverse event was nausea, occurring in 13.3% of participants.In this 'real-world' observational study, 70.4% of Greek smokers successfully quit smoking after 12 weeks of varenicline therapy, providing support that varenicline is an effective smoking cessation medication. Further studies with longer follow-up are warranted.ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00669240Tobacco use accounts for over half a million deaths each year in the European Union (EU), with comprehensive public health policies currently being developed to curb this epidemic in member countries [1]. Smoking cessation is a key element of these EU-wide policies. However, the success rate of quit attempts without pharmacological assistance is low: only 3-5% of self-quitters remain abstinent after 6-12 months following a quit attempt [2]. Current guidelines recommend the use of smoking cessation medications combined with behavioural support to address tobacco dependency and improve abstinence rates following a quit attempt [3].Varenicline is among the first-line s