The medicines information centre at RGH has been asked many times for advice on the most appropriate medication to aid smoking cessation in a patient with a diagnosis of depression. With the recent listing of nicotine replacement patches for subsidised supply through the Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme for concession card holders, it is timely to review important clinical interactions with the three currently available therapeutic agents used as an aid to smoking cessation and their use in combination with antidepressant therapy.
The three available agents: buproprion (Zyban®), nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and varenicline (Champix®); all have similar efficacy rates in assisting with smoking cessation. Regular counselling and support (such as via the Australian government sponsored Quitline, telephone 137848) is known to increase quit rates (with or without additional pharmacological treatment) as these approaches aid motivation and provide behavioural skills to enable continued abstinence.
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A joint initiative of the Patient Services Section and the Drug and Therapeutics Information Service of the Pharmacy Department, Repatriation General Hospital, Daw Park, South Australia. The RGH Pharmacy E-Bulletin is distributed in electronic format on a weekly basis, and aims to present concise, factual information on issues of current interest in therapeutics, drug safety and cost-effective use of medications.
Editor: Assoc. Prof. Chris Alderman, University of South Australia – Director of Pharmacy, RGH © Pharmacy Department, Repatriation General Hospital, Daw Park, South Australia 5041.
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- Smoking is the single biggest factor responsible for the gap between the health of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people http://bit.ly/ezHNP
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- Anwernekenhe National Aboriginal &TI HIV/AIDS Alliance launched. to bring down Indigenous HIV rates http://bit.ly/FRsYm
- National Indigenous Health Equality Council has first meeting with Snowdon, Minister for Indigenous Health http://bit.ly/pWubU
- Indigenous pandemic protection ‘a long way off’ for South Australia’s Aboriginal communities http://bit.ly/Z3SOO
- serious gaps in diagnosis & treatment of people at risk from heart attacks. Good news-Aboriginal people treated better! http://bit.ly/18JO96
The Indigenous News Updates are sourced from news and other articles from around the country that I have posted on Twitter. Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.
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