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Oral Nicotine Pouches Versus Nicotine Replacement Therapy to Reduce Cigarette Use for Smokers in Rural Appalachia

Testing Oral Nicotine Pouches to Reduce Smoking-Related Cancer in Rural Appalachia

Status
Recruiting
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT06763536
Acronym
ARISE
Enrollment
1000
Registered
2025-01-08
Start date
2025-06-13
Completion date
2028-12-31
Last updated
2025-06-22

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

Conditions

Cigarette Smoking-Related Carcinoma

Brief summary

This clinical trial compares the use of oral nicotine pouches to nicotine replacement therapy, consisting of nicotine patches and lozenges, to reduce cigarette use in smokers living in rural Appalachia. The lung and oral cancers that plague Appalachia are fueled by cigarette smoking. Oral nicotine pouches which contain nicotine but no tobacco leaf, present a new opportunity to reduce cancer risk among Appalachian adults who smoke. Oral nicotine pouches and nicotine replacement therapy may work well to reduce cigarette use for smokers in rural Appalachia.

Detailed description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. Evaluate short-term changes in cigarette smoking patterns, including switching, abstinence from cigarettes, and frequency of smoking between oral nicotine patches (ONPs) and NRT. II. Compare product appeal, craving, withdrawal relief, and perceived cigarette dependence between ONPs and NRT. III. Examine sustained changes in tobacco use behaviors, including abstinence from cigarettes, purchase of ONPs/NRT, and continued use of ONPs/NRT. OUTLINE: Participants are randomized to 1 of 2 arms. ARM I: SAMPLING PHASE: Participants receive 2 concentrations of three different flavors of oral nicotine pouches. Participants use the products ad libitum, starting with the lowest concentration, to determine their preferred concentration and flavor, over 2 weeks. SWITCH PHASE: Participants receive their preferred oral nicotine pouches and use them in place of cigarettes for 12 weeks. Participants complete surveys and have their carbon monoxide levels measured at various points throughout the study. OBSERVATION PHASE: After completion of the intervention, participants complete a final follow-up survey, along with a carbon monoxide measure, 14 weeks after the intervention ends. ARM II: SAMPLING PHASE: Participants receive 2 different strengths of nicotine replacement therapy patches and 2 different strengths and 3 different flavors of nicotine replacement therapy lozenges. Participants use the products ad libitum, starting with the lowest concentration, to determine their preferred concentration and flavor, over 2 weeks. SWITCH PHASE: Participants receive their preferred nicotine patches and lozenges and use them in place of cigarettes for 12 weeks. Participants complete surveys and have their carbon monoxide levels measured at various points throughout the study. OBSERVATION PHASE: After completion of intervention, participants complete a final follow-up survey, along with a carbon monoxide measure, 14 weeks after the intervention ends.

Interventions

Undergo carbon monoxide measurement

OTHERNicotine Lozenge

Use nicotine lozenge

Use oral nicotine pouch

OTHERNicotine Patch

Use nicotine patch

OTHERSurvey Administration

measurements; data gathering

OTHERCheck-in Phone Calls

Check-in phone calls to study participants

Sponsors

National Cancer Institute (NCI)
CollaboratorNIH
Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
21 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Read and speak English * 21 years or older * Smoke ≥ 5 cigarettes per day for the past year * Willing to use Oral Nicotine Pouches (ONP) or Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) * Live in a rural Appalachian County * Have a smartphone and/or willing to use a smartphone for study purposes (smartphones may be provided to participants for study purposes only) * Willing to blow air into a handheld study device * If capable of becoming pregnant, verbal confirmation of not being pregnant based on urine pregnancy test results

Exclusion criteria

* Report currently using smoking cessation medications, NRT, or actively seeking treatment for smoking cessation * Use of ONPs in past 3 months * Use of Nicotine Replacement Therapies in past 3 months * Use of other tobacco products \> 10 days/month * Unstable or significant medical condition * Unstable or significant psychiatric conditions (past and stable conditions will be allowed) * History of cardiac event or distress within the past 3 months * Live in same household as another study participant. * Currently pregnant, planning to become pregnant within 6 months, or breastfeeding

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Biochemically verified 7-day point prevalence abstinence from cigarettesAt the end of the 12- week switch phaseStatistical analyses will be performed using SAS 9.4. P-values less than 0.05 will be considered statistically significant. Will be presented as frequencies and proportions and compared with chi-squared tests.
Complete switching rate (Aim 1)At the end of the 12-week switch phaseWill be compared between arms using logistic regression analysis, adjusting for baseline variables as needed.
Abstinence from cigarettes (Aim 1)At the end of the 12-week switch phaseWill be compared between arms using logistic regression analysis, adjusting for baseline variables as needed.
Cigarettes smoked per day (Aim 1)At the end of the 12-week switch phaseIf needed, will apply a normalizing transformation to the number of cigarettes smoked per day (e.g., taking the logarithm) before proceeding with the analysis as a means of removing the effects of potential outliers. Will compare cigarettes smoked per day between the two arms using linear regression analysis. The model will adjust for cigarettes smoked per day at baseline and other baseline variables if they are imbalanced.
Differences in product appeal (Aim 2)From baseline to the end of the 12 week switch phaseWill be adjusted for potential confounders including baseline variables such as age, gender, number of cigarettes smoked per day, and/or randomization stratification factors as necessary; normalizing transformations will be employed if needed.
Cigarette craving (Aim 2)Up to the end of the 12 week switch phaseWill be evaluated with linear regression models adjusting for appropriate confounders.
Withdrawal symptoms (Aim 2)Up to the end of the 12 week switch phaseWill be evaluated with linear regression models adjusting for appropriate confounders.
Change in nicotine dependence among participants who completely switched to their assigned study product (Aim 2)From baseline to the end of the 12 weeks switch phaseUsing linear regression analysis, adjusting for baseline nicotine dependence.
Abstinence from cigarettes (Aim 3)Up to the end of the 14 week observation phaseWill be compared between arms using logistic regression analysis and will be evaluated with a logistic regression model.
Number of days the study products are used (Aim 3)Up to the end of the 14 week observation phaseLinear regression analysis will be used to compare the number of days the products are used. A normalizing transformation will be employed if needed and appropriate baseline characteristics will be adjusted for.
Purchase and continued use of the study products (Aim 3)Up to the end of the 14 week observation phaseWill be compared between the arms with logistic regression analysis, adjusting for all appropriate confounders.

Countries

United States

Contacts

Primary ContactThe Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center
OSUCCCClinicaltrials@osumc.edu800-293-5066

Outcome results

None listed

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