- Summary of the effect of various pharmacotherapies on smoking cessation.
| Interventions | Effect size and confidence interval from meta-analyses | Number of primary studies |
|---|---|---|
| Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) | ||
| Any form of NRT13 | RR 1.55, 95% CI 1.49 to 1.61 | 133 |
| Nicotine gum13 | RR 1.49, 95% CI 1.40 to 1.60 | 56 |
| Nicotine patch13 | RR 1.64, 95% CI 1.53 to 1.75 | 51 |
| Nicotine inhaler13 | RR 1.90, 95% CI 1.36 to 2.67 | 4 |
| Nicotine nasal spray13 | RR 2.02, 95% CI 1.49 to 2.73 | 4 |
| Oral tablets/lozenges13 | RR 1.52, 95% CI 1.32 to 1.74 | 8 |
| Nicotine receptor partial agonists | ||
| Varenicline versus (vs.) placebo14 | RR 2.24, 95% CI 2.06 to 2.43 | 27 |
| Varenicline vs. bupropion14 | RR 1.39, 95% CI 1.25 to 1.54 | 5 |
| Varenicline vs. NRT14 | RR 1.25, 95% CI 1.14 to 1.37 | 8 |
| Cytisine vs. placebo14 | RR 3.98, 95% CI 2.01 to 7.87 | 2 |
| Antidepressants | ||
| Bupropion15 | RR 1.64, 95% CI 1.52 to 1.77 | 45 |
| Bupropion and NRT vs. NRT alone15 | RR 1.19, 95% CI 0.94 to 1.51 | 12 |
| Nortriptyline15 | RR 2.03, 95% CI 1.48 to 2.78 | 6 |
| RR: relative risk, CI: confidence interval | ||