title: Use of varenicline for more than 12 months for smoking cessation in heavy chronic obstructive pulmonary disease smokers unmotivated to quit: a pilot study.
abstract: Use of varenicline for as long as necessary to achieve abstinence has not been studied. The aim of this study was to test whether smokers with mild-to-moderate chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are able to quit if they use varenicline for a sufficient length of time.
  
  
  
  A total of 30 heavy smokers with COPD took varenicline for sufficiently long enough for smoking cessation. Smokers were allowed to smoke without a fixed quit date. The main endpoints were the time of voluntary abstinence (VA) and the continuous abstinence rate (CAR) at 12 and 18 months.
  
  
  
  Of 28 subjects, eight subjects continued to smoke and 20 subjects stopped smoking, demonstrating a CAR up to 18 months (71%). Median time of treatment was 6 (range 3-24) and 2 (range 1-8) months for abstainers and non-abstainers, respectively, and the median time of VA for abstainers was 4 (range 1-21) months.
  
  
  
  Use of varenicline for more than the traditional 12 recommended weeks may be a good strategy to increase the cessation rate in heavy smokers with mild COPD.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Investigación en Tabaquismo y EPOC. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Respiratorias, Calzada de Tlalpan No. 4502, Delegación Tlalpan, Mexico City, 14080 Mexico, D.F., Mexico raulsansores@yahoo.com.mx.
authors.forename: Raúl H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Sansores
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Investigación en Tabaquismo y EPOC, Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Respiratorias, Mexico City, MexicoCentro Respiratorio de México, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Alejandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ramírez-Venegas
authors.affiliation: Centro Respiratorio de México, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Rosario
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Arellano-Rocha
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Investigación en Tabaquismo y EPOC, Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Respiratorias, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Valeri
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Noé-Díaz
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Investigación en Tabaquismo y EPOC, Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Respiratorias, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Leonor
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: García-Gómez
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Investigación en Tabaquismo y EPOC, Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Respiratorias, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Pérez Bautista
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Investigación en Tabaquismo y EPOC, Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Respiratorias, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Mónica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Velázquez Uncal
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D010865:Pilot Projects; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000379:methods*; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D013997:Time Factors; D061485:Tobacco Use Cessation Devices; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D000068580:Varenicline / Q000008:administration & dosage*
chemical_list: D000068580:Varenicline
keywords: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; flexible quit date; non-motivated smokers; varenicline