Cytisine is more effective than placebo and nicotine replacement therapy for smoking cessation but at standard dosing has not been compared against varenicline, the most effective single-form pharmacotherapy for smoking cessation.

This non-inferiority trial among Australian smokers (n = 1452) examined whether standard cytisine treatment was at least as effective as standard varenicline treatment.

Results from this National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)-funded trial will be explored.

About the speaker

Dr Courtney is currently a Senior Lecturer and National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Career Development Fellow (CDF) in Health Behaviour science at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC). Dr Courtney leads UNSW, NDARC’s Tobacco Research Group (TRG) which has a strong focus on smoking cessation, in particular tobacco smoking in low-socioeconomic status (low-SES) and disadvantaged populations. This research seeks to understand the relationship between social disparities including socioeconomic inequities and health behaviours and outcomes. As a clinical trialist Dr Courtney’s currently funded NHMRC projects are examining both new and innovative pharmacotherapy and behavioural approaches to improve smoking cessation outcomes.