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Category: Volume 06 Issue 02 February 2018
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Title: Efficacy of Pharmacotherapy versus Combined Therapy in Tobacco Cessation: A Prospective Comparative Study

Authors: Abbas Mehdi, Sanjay Gupta, Balram Pandit

 DOI:  https://dx.doi.org/10.18535/jmscr/v6i2.101

Abstract

Background: In view of skyrocketing number of cases leading to increased prevalence of tobacco use, especially in developing countries the interventions for smoking cessation have become an urgent need of the hour. The aim of the present study is, therefore, to know the effect of pharmacotherapy alone and pharmacotherapy with psychotherapy on tobacco cessation.

Methods: It is a prospective cohort study conducted in 75 subjects (Pharmacotherapy alone group, n= 38; pharmacotherapy with psychotherapy group n= 37). Subjects were randomly allocated into two groups. Medication was given to all the subjects with bupropion (300 mg) based on the severity of tobacco addiction while psychotherapies were individually tailored and delivered only in one group.

Results: Tobacco abstinence rates in both the groups differ markedly. The mean age of patients in the pharmacotherapy alone group and the combined group was 31.59±13.75 and 34.14±11.71 years, respectively. The mean age of starting tobacco use was 22.41±8.34 and 22.71±8.21 years in the pharmacotherapy alone group and the combined group, respectively. Overall, 22.7% (n=17) of the subjects were smoker while majority of them belonged to smokeless group (77.3%, n=58). The overall rates of continuous abstinence at 6, 8 and 12 weeks were 26.3%, 28.9% and 28.9% respectively in pharmacotherapy group, while in combined therapy group it was 47.3, 54.1, and 54.1 respectively.  In Smokeless group it was 28.1% at week 6, 8 and 12 in pharmacotherapy group and 50%, 53.8% and 53.8% respectively in combined therapy group while in smokers abstinence rate at 6, 8 and 12 weeks was 16.7%, 33.3% and 33.3% respectively in pharmacotherapy group and 45.5%, 54.5% and 54.5% in combined therapy group (p<0.05).

Conclusions: Combined therapy was found to be significantly more effective than pharmacotherapy alone in both smoker as well as smokeless tobacco user group.

Key words: Tobacco cessation, Bupropion, Combined therapy.

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Corresponding Author

Abbas Mehdi

Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Medical Sciences,

Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi221005, Uttar Pradesh India