African Americans have been underrepresented in tobacco treatment research, including the clinical trials that led to the 2006 U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of varenicline (Chantix), the leading pharmacologic treatment for smoking cessation. Meanwhile, African Americans suffer higher rates of smoking-related disease and death despite smoking fewer cigarettes per day than White Americans.
Researchers at The University of Kansas Cancer Center have released the results of a clinical trial that examined the effectiveness of varenicline in African Americans. In their study, published by Lisa Sanderson Cox, PhD, of the University of Kansas Medical Center, and colleagues in JAMA, African American daily smokers who were given varenicline while receiving counseling had significantly greater quit rates than those who received a placebo.
“We have strong evidence that varenicline is safe and effective for African American smokers. Clinicians need to be proactive in recommending counseling and pharmacotherapy for African Americans, and varenicline can make a big difference in helping individuals quit smoking,” said Dr. Cox, lead author of the study, Professor of Population Health at the University of Kansas Medical Center and member of The University of Kansas Cancer Center’s Cancer Prevention and Control research program.
Advancing treatment for African American smokers to improve health equity was the impetus for a partnership that began 25 years ago between The University of Kansas Medical Center’s Department of Population Health, The University of Kansas Cancer Center, and Swope Health, a Kansas City–based federally qualified health center serving mostly African American patients. This partnership launched the Kick It at Swope series of clinical trials, some of the few studies in the country designed specifically for African Americans who smoke.
Cox LS et al: JAMA 327:2201-2209, 2022.
