Helping African American Individuals Quit Smoking
Baker TB, Burris JL, Fiore MC. Editorial. Helping African American Individuals Quit Smoking: Finally, Some Progress. JAMA. 14 June 2022;327(22):2192-2194. “Investigators (Cox LS et al in JAMA, 14 June 2020) enrolled 500 African American adults who were smokers, provided them with 6 sessions of culturally relevant individualized counseling, and randomized the study participants (in a 3:2 ratio) to receive varenicline (1 mg twice daily; n = 300) or placebo (n = 200) for 12 weeks. The varenicline group had a significantly higher 26-week abstinence rate than the placebo group (15.7% vs 6.5%; between-group difference, 9.2% [95% CI, 3.8%-14.5%]; odds ratio, 2.7 [95% CI, 1.4-5.1]; P = .002).
“The findings have implications beyond Black individuals who smoke. Light daily smoking has become increasingly common over the past 2 decades in the smoking population in the US, with an estimated 25.0% of adult smokers in 2020 reporting smoking 1 to 9 cigarettes per day (increased from 16.4% of adult smokers in 2005). Findings suggest that light smokers can be treated effectively, ideally using a combination of smoking cessation counseling and pharmacotherapy.”
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2793270
Comment: Findings suggest that intermittent and menthol smoking is a pattern of smoking that may be effectively treated for younger adults and women as well as Blacks. Menthol cigarette prevalence in Thailand has been reported to be high (> 20%).
Stephen Hamann
