| Summary: | Background
Greece has the highest proportion of smokers in the European Union with 42% of Greeks admitting
that they smoke, based on a 2009 survey. This post-hoc analysis of a prospective, observational study evaluated the
effectiveness and safety profile of the smoking cessation aid varenicline, as well as potential predictors of quit
success in a Greek population.
Methods
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.
Results
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 Fagerström 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.
Conclusions
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.
Trial Registration
ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00669240
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