Smoking Cessation

Smoking remains one of the leading preventable causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide and is strongly associated with chronic respiratory diseases, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and premature death. Physicians play a central role in tobacco control through the delivery of smoking cessation counseling, and even brief physician advice has been shown to significantly increase smoking quit rates. The evidence-based 5A's model (Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist, and Arrange) is widely recommended as the standard framework for smoking cessation counseling.

Tobacco-free oral nicotine pouches (such as Zyn brand) are a less harmful alternative to cigarette smoking. Pouches, however, contain nicotine, and addictive substance that is not risk-free. The present study is evaluating how well nicotine pouches, at different nicotine levels, help people switch away from smoking cigarettes. People who smoke cigarettes will be asked to answer questions about their tobacco product use and provide breath samples and cheek swab samples at an in-person visit to MUSC Charleston. Participants will then be provided with a 28-day supply of nicotine pouches, and will be asked to switch from smoking to pouches over the course of 4 weeks. Finally, participants will complete a final visit at MUSC, and will answer more questions about their tobacco use 1-month later.

The purpose of this study is to provide preliminary evidence for the efficacy of 12 weeks of vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) for increasing smoking abstinence rates.

No published studies to date have evaluated the combined impact of varenicline and oral nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) on smoking cessation in a randomized trial. Oral NRT, such as nicotine lozenges, can provide acute relief from cravings/withdrawal, and offers individuals the flexibility to deliver nicotine quickly, in contrast with the continuous, passive, and slow-acting delivery of the nicotine patch. Nevertheless, in clinical trials of other combination pharmacotherapies, participants' adherence to of oral NRT has been suboptimal, making it difficult to determine whether there is an added benefit. Given the near-ubiquity of smartphone ownership (85% of U.S. adults), it is plausible that smartphone-based medication adherence interventions could have a positive influence on pharmacotherapy adherence and smoking cessation. This investigative team has demonstrated the feasibility and potential efficacy of using combination varenicline plus oral NRT treatment to promote smoking cessation in a pilot factorial randomized trial. Likewise, pilot findings showed that medication adherence and smoking cessation rates were higher among those who received smartphone-based medication reminders than those who did not. The proposed study will enroll 496 adults who smoke cigarettes daily. The study will employ a 2x2 factorial design in which participants will be randomized to one of four combinations of two treatment factors: 1) pharmacological treatment (varenicline + nicotine lozenges vs. varenicline alone) and 2) smartphone medication adherence intervention (smartphone-based smoking cessation app with vs. without adherence components). The primary study outcomes will be biochemically-confirmed 7-day point prevalence abstinence at 26 weeks after a scheduled quit date, and medication adherence over the 13-week treatment period. Smartphone-based daily diaries will be employed to assess daily smoking and medication adherence. Notably, the proposed study will employ entirely remote assessment and treatment delivery strategies. Exploratory analyses will evaluate the potential interaction between medication type and the smartphone adherence intervention, and compare the influences of pharmacological treatment type and the medication adherence intervention on weekly physical symptoms (e.g., withdrawal, medication side effects). The overarching goal of the proposed research is to improve smoking cessation treatment and decrease cancer risk.

This study is a Phase 3, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo- and active-controlled, parallel-group trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of AXS-05 compared to placebo and bupropion for smoking cessation in adults.

This study aims to broaden the reach of the lung cancer screening (LCS) CONNECT program (NCT04149249, NCT06213532), by developing a version of the program to be available to multilingual communities. The CONNECT program encourages individuals who are undergoing lung cancer screening to also quit smoking by providing a personalized program which includes a video doctor with personalized responses, text message and telephone call support and connection with a pharmacist to assist in obtaining nicotine replacement medication. This clinical trial will develop and ultimately test how well the CONNECT Multilingual (CONNECT ML) program works to improve smoking cessation among current adult smokers within the Spanish and Cantonese speaking communities.

The goal of this research study is to test how well an automated text messaging smoking treatment program helps smokers with HIV quit smoking.

Smoking is one of the leading preventable public health problems worldwide, particularly among young adults who are at increased risk of nicotine dependence. Nursing students represent an important target population because, as future health professionals, they are expected to play a significant role in tobacco control and smoking cessation counseling. The Transtheoretical Model (TTM) is one of the most widely used theoretical frameworks for promoting health behavior change. The aim of this study will be to determine the effect of Transtheoretical Model-based motivational interviewing on changing smoking behavior among nursing students. This study will be planned as a single-group, quasi-experimental pretest-posttest intervention. Nursing students who smoke cigarettes and voluntarily agree to participate will be included in the study. At baseline, participants will complete a Demographic Information Form, the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence, the Stages of Change questionnaire, the Self-Efficacy/Temptation Scale, the Processes of Change Scale, and the Decisional Balance Scale. Participants will receive Transtheoretical Model-based educational sessions and motivational interviewing interventions focusing on the health effects of smoking, reasons for smoking, the benefits of smoking cessation, identification of social support resources, relapse prevention strategies, and successful smoking cessation experiences. The Stages of Change questionnaire will be administered before each motivational interviewing session, and all outcome measures will be reassessed during follow-up evaluations. The study is expected to provide evidence regarding the effectiveness of Transtheoretical Model-based motivational interviewing in reducing smoking behavior, decreasing nicotine dependence, promoting progression through the stages of change, improving self-efficacy, enhancing the use of behavioral change processes, and supporting smoking cessation among nursing students.

The current study will conduct an RCT to evaluate the effectiveness of a family-based incentive intervention with Alaska Native/American Indian families. The experimental arm will be compared to a control arm on biochemically-confirmed smoking abstinence at 6- and 12-months post-intervention.

This study will test a tailored, multilingual tobacco cessation chatbot called LIFT-UP (LLM Intervention for Tobacco in Underserved Populations), designed to better meet the needs of people living in persistent poverty census tracts. This study will use 1:1 semi-structured interviews to explore social drivers of health impacting TC, as well as digital access and preferences among those living in PPCTs. This qualitative approach enables guided yet flexible exploration of key domains while capturing unanticipated insights relevant to refining the chatbot.

Pilot randomized controlled trial evaluating feasibility, acceptability, and trial-readiness of the new app compared with the existing print booklets and the NCI SmokefreeTXT en Español program.

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare the reach and effectiveness of the Refer2Quit intervention for increasing tobacco use treatment and quit rates among household members who smoke versus a treatment as usual group. This clinical trial also aims to study household member and pediatric patient characteristics that are associated with reach and effectiveness of Refer2Quit.

This study will randomize 32 non-treatment-seeking individuals who smoke cigarettes daily into a randomized, crossover, double-blind, placebo-controlled study testing the safety, tolerability, and initial efficacy of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabivarin (Δ9-THCV).

This study examines the application of precision treatment intervention for smoking cessation from both the clinician perspective and patient perspective, and compares it to usual care on tobacco treatment in the primary care setting. The precision treatment intervention includes personalized tobacco treatment recommendations using the patient's clinical, genetic, and biomarker information. This approach may increase effectiveness and adherence for the patient, and increase the clinician's likelihood of prescribing.

Tobacco use remains the leading modifiable risk factor for preventing cancer globally, particularly among people with HIV (PWH). In Laos, 61-80% of male PWH and 3-10% of female PWH smoke cigarettes. PWH who smoke in Laos have no reliable smoking cessation support. Thus, implementing sustainable and evidence-based smoking cessation interventions for PWH in Laos is needed. The investigators developed a scalable and affordable mHealth-based automated treatment program (MAP) to support Lao and Cambodian smokers to quit smoking. MAP involves interactive, tailored, personalized content (text messages, photos, and videos) delivered via a smartphone app. Along with effective cessation treatments, it is imperative to implement procedures to identify patients who smoke and to connect them to treatment. Our team pioneered the Ask-Advise-Connect (AAC, asking patients about smoking at every visit, briefly advising those who smoke to quit, and connecting them to treatment) approach, which showed great impact in our previous US studies. The purpose of this study is to compare 2 smoking cessation implementation strategies in 8 antiretroviral therapy (ART) clinics in the 6 most populous regions in Laos, using a hybrid type-2 pragmatic effectiveness-implementation study and a parallel cluster randomized trial design. Specifically, the investigators will compare an AAC approach paired with our previously developed MAP (AA-MAP) to an AAC approach paired with less resource-intensive printed self-help material (AA-SH). The investigators will use the Practical, Robust Implementation and Sustainability Model (PRISM), which expands the RE-AIM (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance) framework to include more contextual factors relevant to program implementation. Aim 1 is to evaluate the reach and effectiveness of AA-MAP versus AA-SH. Reach is the proportion of PWH who smoke and are willing to make a quit attempt that enroll in treatment. Effectiveness is the proportion of enrolled participants who achieve biochemically confirmed point prevalence abstinence 6 months after enrollment. The investigators will also estimate the real-world impact (impact = reach × effectiveness) of each intervention. Aim 2 is to determine other implementation outcomes of AA-MAP and AA-SH. Aim 3 is to assess the resource use and costs of implementing AA-MAP and AA-SH. The project has the potential to transform HIV care and to reduce tobacco-related cancers and other morbidities.

This randomized controlled trial will evaluate whether a 6-month behavioral intervention delivered via Telegram messenger increases smoking cessation rates in patients after myocardial infarction (MI). Adult smokers hospitalized with acute MI who regularly use Telegram will be randomly assigned to either: * INTERVENTION GROUP: Standard care plus a 6-month Telegram chatbot program providing personalized motivational messages, cognitive-behavioral techniques for craving management, and relapse prevention support. * CONTROL GROUP: Standard care (routine physician advice to quit smoking) plus basic surveys via Telegram without therapeutic content. The primary outcome is 30-day point prevalence abstinence at 6 months, verified by blinded telephone interview with participant and corroborating report from a close relative. Secondary outcomes include changes in cigarette consumption, nicotine dependence, motivation, and intervention engagement metrics. This study addresses the critical gap in smoking cessation support after hospital discharge and could provide evidence for a scalable digital health solution in cardiac secondary prevention.

Understanding ways to help people who live in rural areas quit smoking is a public health priority. quitting smoking among rural people who smoke is a critical public health concern. People in rural areas smoke at higher rates than those in urban areas, experience high rates of smoking caused cancers and deaths. We are recruiting rural people from around the country to better understand how different quit smoking methods can improve a person's chances of successfully quitting smoking.

Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death, causing over 400,000 annual deaths in the United States alone. Smartphone-based interventions, particularly those leveraging real-time adaptive messaging, represent a promising yet underutilized approach to delivering personalized tobacco and cannabis treatment. The investigator's ongoing NCI funded micro-randomized trial (MRT; R01 CA246590) has shown initial feasibility in reducing smoking urges through situationally tailored cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and mindfulness-based acceptance and commitment-based therapy (ACT) messages triggered by real-time contextual data (e.g., geolocation, momentary stress). To advance from a static MRT framework to a dynamic, data-driven just-in-time adaptive intervention (JITAI), this project aims to develop, test, and refine a reinforcement learning (RL) algorithm that can continuously adapt to user needs in real-time, enhancing treatment outcomes for various tobacco and cannabis products. To ensure optimal usability and engagement, the investigators will conduct user-centered testing with the developed RL-based intervention delivery in one cohort (N=7) over 45 days. This will include usability assessment via the System Usability Scale, analysis of app interaction metrics, and semi-structured interviews to gather feedback for refining message content, timing, and design.

The overarching goal of this program of research is to reduce smoking-related health disparities by increasing smoking cessation among Black adults. The goal of this research proposal is to determine whether more intensive, culturally specific, evidence-based interventions are more effective at promoting long-term cessation and other key patient-centered outcomes compared to the usual evidence-based standard of care: services provided by a state-run quitline. This study compares the relative effectiveness of three different treatments (Standard, Intensive, and Intensive Incentivized) on long-term smoking cessation (biochemically confirmed abstinence from combusted tobacco at 26-weeks post-target quit day) among Black adults who smoke and want to quit.

This study evaluates the feasibility and preliminary effects of precision tobacco treatment, compared to usual care, on promoting tobacco treatment in oncology patients and providers in the oncology care setting. The precision treatment intervention includes personalized tobacco treatment recommendations using the patient's clinical, genetic, and biomarker information. This intervention may increase patient receipt of tobacco treatment, patient medication use, and patient smoking abstinence at 6 months.

Background: The goal of this study is to address parental smoking and social adversity, which can present an obstacle for smoking cessation, in order to decrease childhood exposure to second-hand cigarette smoke. To address these factors, this study includes a smoking cessation intervention for parents and legal guardians recruited in pediatric clinics (CanCEASE), as well as the support of a Health Navigator (HN) to work with the participant towards the resolution or mitigation of unmet social needs. Participants: The research team will recruit one thousand participants from pediatric outpatient clinics within two healthcare centres in and around the city of Montreal, Canada, over the course of 2.5 years. Eligible persons are parents and legal guardians, of any sex and gender, accompanying children under 18 to their scheduled medical appointments, and who report at least one social risk in selected areas (i.e., employment, housing stability, ability to pay for utilities, financial resource strain, food security, transportation, childcare, parent education and health literacy). Participants must also be 18 years old or older with sufficient proficiency in French or English to complete the interviews and questionnaires. In households in which both parents smoke, only one will be eligible to participate, but smoking cessation information will be offered to both. Families presenting at the clinic for an urgent medical issue are not eligible to participate. Intervention: Participants will be divided into control group (care as usual with CanCEASE at the end of the study period) and intervention (CanCEASE + Health navigator). All participants will complete questionnaires at Baseline, 6 and 12 months. The intervention group will receive CanCEASE at the end of each questionnaire. Controls will receive CanCEASE at 12 months. The intervention group will have the possibility to meet with the HNs and will be invited to commit to at least two sessions (i.e.: evaluation and a follow up), with the option to book more time as needed. Aims and hypotheses: Examining how effective the combination of CanCEASE with HN support is in helping parents with unmet social needs quit smoking. Investigators will also examine the effects of the intervention on status of unmet social needs, if the intervention was implemented as planned and well accepted by clinics and participants, and what is the cost of the intervention for each person who quits smoking.

PASS2 aims to expand upon the recently completed study (PASS intervention), which tested the telephone delivery of a cognitive behavioral intervention (CBI). This study will use nightly surveys to optimize the intervention's effectiveness for smoking cessation among Veteran smokers with chronic pain.

This multi-site clinical trial will generate data on the efficacy of tirzepatide for smoking cessation and associated outcomes (e.g., post-cessation weight gain) in treatment-seeking people who smoke (PWS) with overweight or obesity. A sample of 300 treatment-seeking people who smoke with body mass index of 25 kg/m2 or greater will be recruited from four geographic sites (University of Southern California, Yale University, University of Chicago, and University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus) to participate in a parallel-arm, dose-escalating, placebo-controlled trial. Participants will attend weekly clinic visits to receive subcutaneous tirzepatide or placebo over 16 weeks (Visit Weeks 1-16), followed by follow-up visits at Week 17 and Week 27. Medication will be prescribed according to the standard dose titration schedule for the first 16 weeks of treatment (initial dose: 2.5mg/week; final dose: 10mg/week). All participants will also receive nicotine patches.

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a combination of varenicline and enhanced accelerated Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (aTMS) works to help adults quit using nicotine products. Researchers will compare varenicline + active aTMS with a single dose of D-Clycloserine to varenicline + sham (inactive) aTMS with a placebo pill to see the effect of enhanced aTMS on reaching abstinence. The main question it aims to answer is: Does receiving active enhanced aTMS + varenicline lead to higher abstinence rates and lower nicotine craving? Participants will be asked to: * Complete 2 brain MRI scans * Take varenicline every day for 12 weeks * Quit using nicotine products at the end of the second week of varenicline * Complete one day of up to 20 TMS treatments * Take a single dose of D-Cycloserine medication on the day of TMS treatment * Complete 12 brief, weekly follow-up visits * Complete a brief daily survey each day that they take the study drug

The investigators aim to address the following specific aims: * Determine the efficacy of Prog in preventing postpartum smoking relapse and reducing smoking relapse risk factors. * Examine the effects of this maternal smoking intervention on infant health. * Examine racial and ethnic differences in intervention outcomes.