A new analysis conducted between Italy and the United States has evaluated the effectiveness of the most commonly used cessation methods, concluding that these products, which include both pharmaceuticals and nicotine replacement products such as e-cigarettes, offer personalized solutions in terms of sensory preferences and nicotine administration and can improve the effectiveness of cessation pathways.
Catania, 23 October 2024 – Analyzing and understanding the mechanisms that affect the effectiveness of cessation treatments translates into an increase in the chances of saying goodbye to smoking definitively. Although the FDA approved the first cessation drugs about forty years ago, smoking remains one of the leading causes of death in the world, despite the fact that within 3 years of the decision to quit the risk of death decreases by 50%. Yet the effectiveness of smoking cessation products is at minimal levels, with an average of 30 attempts needed to quit for each successful cessation process.
In the recent work “Personalized and Adaptive Interventions for Smoking Cessation: Emerging Trends and Determinants of Efficacy”, an international research team, led by prof. Gal CohenHead of Scientific Affairs at Rose Research Center, and conducted in collaboration with Italian researchers from CoEHAR, the Research Center of the University of Catania founded by prof. Riccardo Polosaanalyzed the limits and prospects of the most commonly used methods to quit smoking, concluding that Adaptive cessation approaches may represent better solutions for anyone who struggles to quit using traditional methods.
The study, published on iSciencerepresents cutting-edge work, highlighting the complexity of managing cigarette addiction and innovation in cessation products. By focusing on specific determinants, such as sensory preferences and nicotine tolerability, the article offers new insights into cessation pathways and advocates for personalized and adaptive treatment plans. It also highlights how emerging approaches, using for example cytisine and combustion-free products, provide promising new avenues for reducing smoking-related morbidity.
“Quitting smoking is difficult; we try to find a balance in the complex interaction between nicotine, sensory experience and ritual associated with the use of cigarettes: all elements that are part of the experience of people who smoke“, explains the dott. Cohen. “However, the emerging range of pharmaceutical cessation therapies and nicotine replacement products offers the opportunity to personalize the smoking cessation journey“.
Although medications currently commonly recommended for smoking cessation show promise in clinical trials, cessation rates remain low, and in real-world use dosing and adherence are generally inadequate. Various product combinations can be explored to create adaptive protocols that also take into account the populations most likely to respond positively.
New products, which include both pharmaceutical cessation products such as nicotine vaporizers and nicotine replacement products such as e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and oral nicotine products, offer more personalized, preference-based solutions individual sensory and nicotine intake.
A fact that is confirmed in the United States, where the most commonly used products to quit smoking are nicotine-releasing products, which include nicotine replacement medicinal therapies and consumer substitute products. These include medicinal nicotine patches, chewing gum, lozenges, inhalers and nasal sprays.
“However – explains the prof. Riccardo Polosa – these tools do not provide the sensory stimulation and behavioral rituals associated with smoking. In contrast, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products are the most popular nicotine replacement products and are used by nearly 17 million U.S. adults every day.”.
In a survey of adults who vape in the US, UK and Canada, 73% reported wanting to quit as their primary reason for using. “A fact also confirmed by scientific community – adds the scientist from Catania – where the evidence on the effectiveness of electronic cigarettes and similar products has reached a point that can no longer be ignored”.
It should also be considered that, as with any significant change in lifestyle, whether it concerns food consumption, physical exercise or other chronic habits, supportive therapy is an effective and necessary component. In conclusion, innovative evidence-based adaptive protocols can help personalize therapies for all those smokers who struggle to say goodbye to smoking, thus increasing the chances of success and preventing high relapse rates.
