1. Vernonia cinerea pastilles is effective for smoking cessation
- Author
-
Ampornpan Theeranut, Bangorn Sripanidkulchai, Jringjai Areemit, Nadthatida Hansuri, Nirachra Tawinkan, Kittisak Sawanyawisuth, Sineenard Pranboon, Sunee Lertsinudom, and Sutasinee Srisoi
- Subjects
medicine.medical_specialty ,Vernonia cinerea, VC ,medicine.medical_treatment ,media_common.quotation_subject ,0211 other engineering and technologies ,lcsh:Medicine ,Herbs ,02 engineering and technology ,Outcomes ,Placebo ,01 natural sciences ,Placebo group ,law.invention ,Continuous abstinence rate, CAR ,Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence, FTND ,Randomized controlled trial ,Monoamine oxidases, MAO ,law ,Internal medicine ,021105 building & construction ,medicine ,Confidence interval, CI ,Continuous abstinence rate ,media_common ,business.industry ,Chronic obstructive airway disease, COPD ,lcsh:R ,Moderate level ,Abstinence ,Nicotine Addiction ,0104 chemical sciences ,Treatment ,010404 medicinal & biomolecular chemistry ,Complementary and alternative medicine ,Point abstinence rate ,Baseline characteristics ,Point abstinence rate, PAR ,Smoking cessation ,Original Article ,business - Abstract
Background and aim Vernonia cinerea (VC) is a herb that can alleviate nicotine addiction, potentially aiding in smoking cessation. Previous studies have examined four-to eight-week treatments using VC, but have found it to be ineffective. This study aimed to evaluate the smoking cessation effects of VC in addicted smokers over a longer treatment duration with pastilles. Experimental procedure This was a randomized double-blinded controlled trial conducted at a community pharmacy. The inclusion criteria were age between 18 and 60 years, intention to quit smoking, and low to moderate level of nicotine addiction. All eligible participants were stratified according to nicotine addiction level and then randomly assigned either VC treatment or placebo. The VC group received two pastilles three times daily, while the control group received a placebo for 12 weeks. The outcomes were continuous abstinence rate (CAR) and point abstinence rate (PAR) at four and 12 weeks. Results There were 121 eligible participants; 10 participants were not willing to participate. In total, there were 111 eligible participants, 54 of whom were treated with VC (48.65%) and 57 of whom were given a placebo (51.35%). Baseline characteristics were comparable between the two groups. The VC group had a significantly higher chance of smoking cessation at 2.01 (95% CI of 1.03, 3.92) compared with the placebo group at the end of the study. There were no significant side effects in either group. Conclusion The VC pastille group had significantly higher CAR than the placebo group at week 12., Graphical abstract Image 1, Highlights • Vernonia cinerea (VC) is a potential herb for smoking cessation. • Several studies show non-significant results on smoking cessation by VC. • This is the first study showed that VC is effective for smoking cessation.
- Published
- 2019