ReviewDrug and alcohol dependence2009
Ethical concerns about non-active conditions in smoking cessation trials and methods to decrease such concerns.
Review in Drug and alcohol dependence, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The Effect of Tobacco Smoking on Tooth Loss: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of clinical periodontology · 2026Pooled it
- Mind-body practices: an alternative, drug-free treatment for smoking cessation? A systematic review of the literature.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2013Pooled it
- Brain nicotinic acetylcholine receptor availability and response to smoking cessation treatment: a randomized trial.JAMA psychiatry · 2014Trial
- Efficacy of varenicline to prompt quit attempts in smokers not currently trying to quit: a randomized placebo-controlled trial.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2011Trial
- Varenicline for Gradual Versus Abrupt Smoking Cessation in Poorly Motivated Smokers With COPD: A Prematurely Terminated Randomized Controlled Trial.Chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (Miami, Fla.) · 2022Article
- The value of pragmatic and observational studies in health care and public health.Pragmatic and observational research · 2017Review
- Statistical evaluation of the use of concurrent controls in treatment screening studies.Clinical and translational science · 2013Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
Abstract
Many have questioned whether it is ethical to assign participants in a research trial to a non-active control condition (e.g., a placebo or attention-only control) when (a) the disorder under study is serious, (b) validated treatment is available, and (c) harm may occur if treatment is not given. This ethical concern may apply to studies of controlled trials of treatments for drug dependence. The current paper examines this concern for trials of nicotine dependence because there are multiple validated treatments available. The major harm from assignment to a non-active condition in such a trial could occur if failure to quit discourages smokers from trying to quit again. Whether this harm actually occurs is unclear. Potential harms from non-active conditions may be mitigated by (a) provision of more explicit information in the consent process, (b) inclusion of only those who have failed optimal treatment, (c) provision of validated treatment via a different modality, (d) tests of the new treatment as an add-on to standard treatment, (e) use of dose-response design, (f) use of unequal randomization designs, (g) use of stopping rules, (h) provision of optimal therapy to those who fail during the study, or (i) comparison of the experimental treatment vs. standard treatment. Empirical research to inform ethical analysis of non-active conditions in drug abuse research is suggested.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.