When used with a transdermal nicotine patch, nortriptyline—an antidepressant medication—may aid in smoking cessation, according to an article in the November 8 issue of The Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
According to background information in the article, smoking is an important preventable cause of death. However, current cessation methods are only partially successful. Several different types of antidepressant medications have been effective in helping people quit smoking.
Allan V. Prochazka, M.D., M.Sc., from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, and colleagues tested the efficacy of nortriptyline in helping people quit smoking cigarettes. Study participants, aged 18 to 65 years, were randomly assigned to one of two groups: one group received nortriptyline (n = 79) and one group received placebo (n = 79). Researchers started both groups with 25 milligrams per day of either nortriptyline or placebo 14 days before the set quit date, and then increased dosage to 75 milligrams per day, as tolerated. A transdermal nicotine patch was administered to all study participants on the determined quit day and was worn for eight weeks.