Effective Cessation Strategies for Smokers with Schizophrenia

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Smokers with schizophrenia spectrum disorders should receive varenicline or bupropion with or without nicotine replacement therapy in combination with behavioral treatment. Clinical practice guidelines now recommend duration of treatment be 12 weeks, but evidence indicates that maintenance pharmacotherapy for 1 year improves sustained abstinence rates.

Controlled trials have found no evidence that in patients with serious mental illness, the use of pharmacotherapeutic cessation aids worsens psychiatric symptoms or increases the rate of psychiatric adverse events.

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Varenicline worked well for me though there were some adverse mental side effects. Not sure if I’d use it again.

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Malvok! Good to see you’re back! How have you been?

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Thanks. I’m doing well.

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I am using this med to help me quit smoking and I haven’t noticed anything side effect wise except for very vivid dreams, not nightmares so far. I am really pleased with this med.

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I quit Oct. 2. I didn’t use any aids but had been smoking only 1 cigarette a day for months so I was used to going longer periods of time not smoking during the day. I hated the hold cigarettes had on me.

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Next time I see my doctor I will ask about either of these meds.

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