Patches, inhalers, lozenges, chewing gum… These treatments, used in smoking cessation, help reduce alcohol consumption.
- Of the 400 patients, 97 people used opioids and 156 individuals had depressive symptoms.
- Scientists are increasingly focusing on the comorbidities of people with AIDS in order to improve their quality and life expectancy.
- “They are not only living with HIV, but also have a heavy burden of hepatitis, polydrug use and mental health problems,” according to the researchers.
“Are varenicline and cytisine (medicines prescribed to stop smoking) effective in treating both smoking and alcoholism in people who smoke daily, are HIV-positive and have risky alcohol consumption?” This is the question asked by American researchers. To find out for sure, they decided to carry out a study published in the journal JAMA Network Open.
400 HIV-positive patients
As part of this work, scientists compared the effects on alcohol consumption and smoking of partial agonists of nicotinic receptors (namely varenicline and cytisine) with those of nicotine substitutes.
To carry out their research, the team recruited 400 people with AIDS who had risky drinking (that is, who drank significant amounts of alcohol five or more days a week in the previous month) and smoked five or more cigarettes a day. Participants were followed for 12 months after enrollment in the clinical trial. The adults received advice on alcohol and tobacco and each received treatment, either a so-called “active” drug or a placebo.
A reduction in alcohol consumption
After three months of follow-up, alcohol consumption had decreased, both in participants who received treatment with nicotine replacement therapy, but also in those who took varenicline or cytisine. According to the results, the days of heavy drinking and abstinence from smoking at six months did not differ according to the group. However, abstinence rates were high.
“A single drug to treat both risky drinking and smoking could effectively and significantly improve health. Risky drinking and smoking frequently coexist and both threaten health by increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and other significant health problems”, said William Anderson Spickard, author of the study, in a statement.