Medication therapy may help smokers quit gradually: study

Anti-smoking drug varenicline may help smokers gradually cut back their cigarette consumption before they were ready or able to quit, a study said Tuesday.

The study, published in the U.S. Journal of the American Medical Association, enrolled more than 1,500 smokers in the United States and abroad between 2011 and 2013. They were randomized to either six months of varenicline or placebo.

Eligible participants were 18 years or older, smoked an average of 10 or more cigarettes per day with no continuous abstinence period longer than three months in the past year, and were not willing or able to quit smoking within the next month but were willing to work toward the goal of quitting in the next three months.

The researchers found that 760 participants receiving varenicline were greater than four times more likely to quit than the 750 participants receiving placebo at six months and over two times more likely to quit than participants receiving a placebo at 12 months.

"Smokers should know that varenicline can help them quit smoking if they want to reduce their smoking prior to completely stopping," said lead author Jon Ebbert, associate director for research in the Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Center, in a statement.

"It's an effective and safe way to increase long-term smoking cessation," Ebbert added.

The research was funded by Pfizer, the manufacturer of varenicline.