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Combined Pharmaco/Behavior Therapy in Adolescent Smokers

Combined Pharmaco/Behavior Therapy in Adolescent Smokers

Status
Completed
Phases
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT00330187
Enrollment
134
Registered
2006-05-26
Start date
2004-03-31
Completion date
2009-07-31
Last updated
2018-10-02

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Nicotine Dependence, Nicotine Use Disorder

Keywords

nicotine dependence, bupropion SR, smoking cessation, adolescents, contingency management

Brief summary

In the current proposal, we intend to study the efficacy of bupropion SR with or without combined contingency management (CM) among adolescent cigarette smokers. The proposed study will test not only medication (bupropion SR), but also combination of medication and CM in potentially improving smoking cessation outcomes AND retention of adolescent smokers in the study. Hypothesis to be tested: Bupropion SR treatment will increase abstinence from cigarette smoking (as measured by urine cotinine and continuous abstinence) in adolescent smokers as compared to treatment with placebo only. Hypothesis to be tested: Adolescent smokers treated with combined bupropion SR + contingency management (CM) treatment will have increased retention and increased abstinence rates when compared to bupropion SR alone or CM + placebo treated groups (as measured by decreased drop-out of participants, urine cotinine and continuous abstinence). Hypothesis to be tested: CM will increase the abstinence from cigarette smoking (as measured by urine cotinine and continuous abstinence) in adolescent smokers as compared to treatment with placebo only.

Detailed description

To test the hypotheses, 216 adolescent smokers will be recruited. Fifty-four adolescent smokers will be recruited in each of the four groups: bupropion SR only, bupropion SR + CM, CM + placebo, and placebo only. The cells will be balanced for gender and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder using permuted block randomization. A counseling intervention was added for all groups because it was reasoned that it would be unethical not to provide an active treatment to cigarette smoking adolescents. The counseling intervention will consist of two quit smoking brochures that provide information on tips to help quit smoking. The study will consist of a one-week lead in period followed by a six-week treatment trial. For the medication groups, medications will be titrated during the one-week lead-in period. The primary outcome measure is urine cotinine and self-report of cigarette use collected using the Time-Line Follow-Back at the end of six weeks.

Interventions

OTHERPlacebo

Placebo, matched in appearance to Bupropion SR, for 6 weeks of treatment

Bupropion SR, with goal dose 300 mg/day, for 6 weeks of active treatment

BEHAVIORALContingency Management

Contingency Management provided at twice-weekly visits during the 6-week active treatment. Escalating schedule, with resets, reinforcing smoking abstinence.

Sponsors

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
CollaboratorNIH
Medical University of South Carolina
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
12 Years to 21 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

1. Regular cigarette smokers smoking at least 5 cigarettes per day as derived by Time-Line Follow-Back method (Sobell et al., 1988). Average number of cigarettes per day (over past 30 days) will be used. Five cigarettes per day may seem low, but based on previous studies, adolescents tend to smoke fewer cigarettes per day as compared to adults. 2. Baseline urine cotinine level greater than 100 ng/ml. 3. Age range of 12 - 21 4. If under 18 yr. of age, parent(s) or guardian(s) able to participate in informed consent and initial assessment, or the participant must provide evidence of emancipated status. 5. For post menarchal female participants: agree to use birth control to avoid pregnancy.

Exclusion criteria

1. Active substance abuse/dependence (other than nicotine) within 2 weeks prior to participating in the study 2. Lifetime bipolar affective disorder (BPAD), psychosis, eating disorders. Bupropion may have adverse consequence on participants with these psychiatric diagnoses. 3. Current major depressive disorders. Since bupropion is also an antidepressant, this criteria is to minimize the confound of depressive disorder during the study. History of depressive disorders and current attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) will not be an exclusion. We will use permuted block randomization procedure to balance the groups for ADHD. 4. Pregnancy or lactation. The safety of bupropion in pregnancy and during lactation is not well studied. 5. History of seizure disorder or predisposition to seizures (e.g., history of significant head trauma, currently taking medications that lower seizure threshold), since bupropion can lower seizure threshold. 6. History of severe renal, hepatic, neurological, or chronic pulmonary disease. This criterion was chosen due to the hepatic metabolism of bupropion. 7. Unstable medical problems 8. Allergy to bupropion 9. Current treatment with any other medication containing bupropion 10. Current treatment with any monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors currently or within 2 weeks of starting the study since there may be serious and severe medical interactions between MAO inhibitors and bupropion SR. 11. Current treatment with nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) 12. History of intolerance or non-response to bupropion SR. 13. Current (past month) suicide ideation 14. Suicide attempt (past year)

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Biologically-verified 7-day Point Prevalence Smoking AbstinenceEnd of treatment (week 6)Self-reported abstinence for the past 7 days, confirmed by urine cotinine ≤100 ng/mL

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Participants by arm

ArmCount
Bupropion SR + Contingency Management
Bupropion SR capsules, with goal dose of 300 mg/day, for 6 weeks of treatment. Contingency Management, with escalating rewards for abstinence (and re-sets for non-abstinence) at twice-weekly visits. Bupropion SR: Bupropion SR, with goal dose 300 mg/day, for 6 weeks of active treatment Contingency Management: Contingency Management provided at twice-weekly visits during the 6-week active treatment. Escalating schedule, with resets, reinforcing smoking abstinence.
37
Placebo + Contingency Management
Placebo capsules, matched in appearance to Bupropion SR capsules, for 6 weeks of treatment. Contingency Management, with escalating rewards for abstinence (and re-sets for non-abstinence) at twice-weekly visits. Contingency Management: Contingency Management provided at twice-weekly visits during the 6-week active treatment. Escalating schedule, with resets, reinforcing smoking abstinence. Placebo: Placebo, matched in appearance to Bupropion SR, for 6 weeks of treatment
36
Bupropion SR + No Contingency Management
Bupropion SR capsules, with goal dose of 300 mg/day, for 6 weeks of treatment. Contingency Management is not provided in this arm. Bupropion SR: Bupropion SR, with goal dose 300 mg/day, for 6 weeks of active treatment
29
Placebo + No Contingency Management
Placebo capsules, matched in appearance to Bupropion SR capsules, for 6 weeks of treatment. Contingency Management is not provided in this arm. Placebo: Placebo, matched in appearance to Bupropion SR, for 6 weeks of treatment
32
Total134

Withdrawals & dropouts

PeriodReasonFG000FG001FG002FG003
Overall StudyLost to Follow-up12131410
Overall StudyWithdrawal by Subject8544

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicPlacebo + No Contingency ManagementTotalBupropion SR + Contingency ManagementPlacebo + Contingency ManagementBupropion SR + No Contingency Management
Age, Categorical
<=18 years
15 Participants62 Participants17 Participants16 Participants14 Participants
Age, Categorical
>=65 years
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Age, Categorical
Between 18 and 65 years
17 Participants72 Participants20 Participants20 Participants15 Participants
Age, Continuous19 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 1.8
18.5 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 1.9
18.4 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 1.9
18.4 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 1.9
18.1 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 1.9
Sex: Female, Male
Female
15 Participants56 Participants16 Participants14 Participants11 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
17 Participants78 Participants21 Participants22 Participants18 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
EG001
affected / at risk
EG002
affected / at risk
EG003
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
0 / 370 / 360 / 290 / 32
other
Total, other adverse events
22 / 3714 / 3625 / 2915 / 32
serious
Total, serious adverse events
0 / 370 / 360 / 290 / 32

Outcome results

Primary

Biologically-verified 7-day Point Prevalence Smoking Abstinence

Self-reported abstinence for the past 7 days, confirmed by urine cotinine ≤100 ng/mL

Time frame: End of treatment (week 6)

Population: Intent-to-treat analysis

ArmMeasureValue (NUMBER)
Bupropion SR + Contingency ManagementBiologically-verified 7-day Point Prevalence Smoking Abstinence10 participants
Placebo + Contingency ManagementBiologically-verified 7-day Point Prevalence Smoking Abstinence3 participants
Bupropion SR + No Contingency ManagementBiologically-verified 7-day Point Prevalence Smoking Abstinence3 participants
Placebo + No Contingency ManagementBiologically-verified 7-day Point Prevalence Smoking Abstinence3 participants
p-value: 0.0795% CI: [0.9, 14.4]Regression, Logistic

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026