Trial reportAddiction (Abingdon, England)2013
Randomized trial of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), bupropion and NRT plus bupropion for smoking cessation: effectiveness in clinical practice.
Trial report in Addiction (Abingdon, England), 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 8 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
29 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 59 citations in OpenAlex.
- Korean Clinical Practice Guideline of Korean Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (KSRNT) and National Evidence-based Healthcare Collaborating Agency (NECA) on Treatment of Tobacco Use 2024.Journal of Korean medical science · 2025Guideline
- Differences in the effectiveness of individual-level smoking cessation interventions by socioeconomic status.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of varenicline and bupropion on laboratory smoking outcomes: Meta-analysis of randomized, placebo-controlled human laboratory studies.Addiction biology · 2022Pooled it
- Cessation classification likelihood increases with higher expired-air carbon monoxide cutoffs: a meta-analysis.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2021Pooled it
- Antidepressants for smoking cessation.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Impact of specialist and primary care stop smoking support on socio-economic inequalities in cessation in the United Kingdom: a systematic review and national equity initial review completed 22 January 2019; final version accepted 19 July 2019 analysis.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2020Pooled it
- Smoking cessation interventions for potential use in the lung cancer screening setting: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Lung cancer (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2019Pooled it
- Antidepressants for smoking cessation.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2014Pooled it
- Exenatide Adjunct to Nicotine Patch Facilitates Smoking Cessation and May Reduce Post-Cessation Weight Gain: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2021Trial
- The effect of a behavioral activation treatment for substance use on post-treatment abstinence: a randomized controlled trial.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2018Trial
- Impact of large-scale distribution and subsequent use of free nicotine patches on primary care physician interaction.BMC public health · 2017Trial
- Zonisamide Reduces Withdrawal Symptoms But Does Not Enhance Varenicline-Induced Smoking Cessation.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2016Trial
- Patient-Level Determinants Outweigh Pharmacotherapy Choice in Smoking Cessation: Evidence from a Real-World Study in Turkey.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Neuropharmacology of Nicotine Addiction and Therapeutic Strategies for Smoking Cessation.Biology · 2026Review
- Antidepressants for smoking cessation.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Review
- Tobacco Use and Treatment of Tobacco Dependence Among People With Human Immunodeficiency Virus: A Practical Guide for Clinicians.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2022Article
- Through the Haze: What Clinicians Can Do to Address Youth Vaping.The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine · 2020Article
- Implementation of a free smoking-cessation program in a Lebanese academic medical center.Tobacco induced diseases · 2020Article
- Journal Club-Electronic Cigarettes and Vaping as a Harm Reduction Alternative: Really?Chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (Miami, Fla.) · 2019Article
- Review of the role of cigarette smoking in diabetic foot.Journal of diabetes investigation · 2019Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors at 7 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimsBupropion was introduced for smoking cessation following a pivotal trial showing that it gave improved efficacy over the nicotine patch and also suggesting combination treatment was beneficial. We tested in clinical practice for an effectiveness difference between bupropion and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), whether the combination improves effectiveness and whether either treatment might be more beneficial for certain subgroups of smokers.
designOpen-label randomized controlled trial with 6-month follow-up.
settingFour UK National Health Service (NHS) smoking cessation clinics.
participantsSmokers (n = 1071) received seven weekly behavioural support sessions and were randomized to an NRT product of their choice (n = 418), bupropion (n = 409) or NRT plus bupropion (n = 244). MEASURES: The primary outcome was self-reported cessation over 6 months, with biochemical verification at 1 and 6 months. Also measured were baseline demographics, health history, smoking characteristics and unwanted events during treatment.
findingsAbstinence rates for bupropion (27.9%) and NRT (24.2%) were not significantly different (odds ratio = 1.21, 95% confidence interval = 0.883-1.67), and the combination rate (24.2%) was similar to that for either treatment alone. There was some evidence that the relative effectiveness of bupropion and NRT differed according to depression (χ(2) = 2.86, P = 0.091), with bupropion appearing more beneficial than NRT in those with a history of depression (29.8 versus 18.5%). Several unwanted symptoms were more common with bupropion.
conclusionThere is no difference in smoking cessation effectiveness among bupropion, nicotine replacement therapy and their combination when used with behavioural support in clinical practice. There is some evidence that bupropion is more beneficial than nicotine replacement therapy for smokers with a history of depression.
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.