Research ReportVarenicline Reduces Alcohol Self-Administration in Heavy-Drinking Smokers
Section snippets
Participants
Participants were eligible if they were ≥21 years and smoked ≥10 cigarettes per day. Women and men had to consume >7 or 14 drinks per week, and >3 or 4 drinks per episode at least once per week, respectively (35), in the previous 30 days. Exclusion criteria included alcohol dependence, illicit drug use (except for occasional cannabis use), past 30-day use of psychoactive drugs, treatment-seeking for alcohol or smoking, current Axis I disorders (except for nicotine dependence or alcohol abuse) (
Baseline Characteristics
Varenicline and placebo groups were well matched for baseline demographic variables, and smoking and drinking behavior with the exception of race/ethnicity (Table 1).
Pretreatment Period
During the medication titration period, rates of adverse events did not differ by medication (Table 2). All severity ratings were minimal or mild. No participants discontinued the study because of adverse events. There were no significant changes from baseline in alcohol or cigarette use during the 1-week drug titration period;
Discussion
Using an established alcohol self-administration paradigm (30, 31, 32, 33, 34), we found that varenicline compared with placebo significantly reduced the number of drinks consumed by heavy-drinking smokers and increased the likelihood of remaining completely abstinent during the 2-hour self-administration period. This result is consistent with preclinical findings (29) examining ethanol seeking and choice and further supports a role for nAChR effects in alcohol consumption. Varenicline also
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