RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy in smoking cessation and safety of 2 and 4âmg nicotine mint lozenges in Chinese adult smokers. METHODS: This was a multicenter, randomized, stratified, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study. The low-dependence stratum included 483 smokers (241 randomized to active 2âmg nicotine lozenge and 242 to placebo lozenge). The high-dependence stratum included 240 smokers (120 randomized to active 4âmg nicotine lozenge and 120 to placebo lozenge). The primary endpoint was successful smoking cessation at 6 weeks postquit, defined as continuous abstinence from smoking for the 28-day period up to and including the 6-week visit (verified by CO measurement). Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel tests were performed to compare quit rates between active nicotine and placebo separately for the high-dependence and low-dependence strata. RESULTS: The primary analysis showed that in the low-dependence (2âmg) stratum, 59 subjects (24.5%) of 241 in the active nicotine group and 52 subjects (21.5%) of 242 in the placebo group were successful quitters (Pâ=â.3851). In the high-dependence (4âmg) stratum, 37 subjects (30.8%) of 120 in the active nicotine group and 24 subjects (20.2%) of 119 in the placebo group were successful quitters (Pâ=â.0565). CONCLUSIONS: The 4âmg nicotine lozenge provided a directionally significant improvement in smoking cessation rates compared with placebo in Chinese adult smokers with high nicotine dependence for the primary endpoint. The 2âmg nicotine lozenge provided higher, but nonsignificant, smoking cessation rates than placebo. Both nicotine lozenges were generally well tolerated in Chinese adult smokers.