Antidepressant patch may help smokers quit

Researchers are seeking regular smokers to try a skin patch that delivers medication for depression. The drug, selegiline, could help smokers fight off cravings they feel when they try to quit, according to Joel Killen, the study’s lead author.

Selegiline is marketed as Emsam and produced by Somerset Pharmaceuticals and Bristol-Meyers Squibb. The FDA approved the patch as a treatment against depression in February 2006.

The new study seeks smokers between ages 18 and 65 who are interested in quitting, said Killen. Subjects will wear a skin patch that delivers either selegiline or a placebo. Participants change the patch daily for eight weeks while trying to quit smoking.

For two months, subjects will go to a Stanford smoking cessation clinic in San Jose for weekly checkups. During these visits, participants will also receive additional counseling to help them remain smoke-free. The study will follow the participants for a year to track their progress at quitting.

Besides easing the cravings, the medication offers other benefits, Killen explained. “Many smokers develop symptoms of depression” after quitting, he said. Selegiline is an antidepressant, and as such, could diminish those feelings as well.

Antidepressants are already prescribed often for quitting smoking, but Killen’s study is the first to use an antidepressant patch to help smokers kick their habit. Medication delivery by patch offers a potential advantage over a pill by reducing side effects and providing a higher, more consistent level of medication, Killen said.

In a previous pilot study involving nine smokers, Killen and colleagues found that the selegiline patch helped the smokers quit, at least in the short term, but more interesting were their experiences during the process. Many said they felt calm and relaxed – a direct contrast to the typical anxiety and edginess experienced by people who quit smoking, Killen said.

If the patch can help alleviate those symptoms, smokers will not only have an easier time quitting, but may be less likely to start up again, Killen said.

“The issue is whether and to what extent you can produce long-term abstinence,” he said.

The study is seeking smokers that currently smoke at least 10 cigarettes a day.

SOURCES: Killen J, Stanford Prevention Research Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.

© Copyright 2007 Insight Journal Online Magazine.

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