Recently, the Rochester Clinical Research Center in the United States has been conducting an experiment to help smokers quit smoking. The experiment is sponsored by Achieve Life Sciences, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company.
According to the 2021 National Youth Tobacco Survey, electronic cigarettes were the most commonly-used tobacco product among students last year, followed by cigarettes and cigars. The survey included data on tobacco product use among high school (grades 9-12) and middle school (grades 6-8) students. Over 2 million students reported using e-cigarettes. Overall, the study found that approximately 2.55 million middle and high school students in the US reported using tobacco products in the past 30 days in 2021.
Once considered a replacement for traditional or combustible cigarettes, electronic cigarettes have become a rapidly growing trend. A recent Gallup survey found that 8% of Americans reported using an electronic cigarette in the past week, up from 6% in 2021 and consistent with 2019.
According to Gallup, adults under the age of 50 (13%) are more likely to use e-cigarettes than those who are 50 years and older (1%). The likelihood of men and women reporting e-cigarette use is equal.
According to Matthew Davis MD, a family medicine practitioner and medical director at RCR, while vaping may be better than inhaling chemicals from burning tobacco, it is not completely safe and is not subject to strict regulation. Davis notes that the nicotine concentration and additives in e-cigarette pods are not carefully monitored.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control, more than 480,000 people in the United States die each year due to smoking, including over 41,000 deaths attributed to secondhand smoke. The CDC estimates that in 2018, smoking caused losses of over $600 billion in the United States, which includes over $240 billion in healthcare expenditures.
The ORCA-V1, developed by Achieve Life Sciences in Washington, is currently undergoing phase II research at RCR with the aim of providing a solution for those looking to quit vaping. The trial is examining the effectiveness and tolerance of the plant-based alkaloid cytisinicline.
It is a natural plant compound extracted from the seeds of trees. It was first used in Eastern Europe, possibly for hundreds of years. People discovered that by chewing these seeds, they were able to reduce their cravings, specifically for smoking," said Davis, a member of the RCR Investigative Team.
Cytisinicline is thought to help with smoking cessation by binding with nicotine receptors in the brain. Its molecular structure is similar to nicotine, which is known to provide cigarette-like satisfaction for users and reduce acute withdrawal symptoms.
Davis stated that Cytisinicline is commonly referred to as the "poor man's Chantix" or the "natural Chantix". Pfizer's Chantix is a popular smoking cessation treatment. The goal is to obtain approval from the Food and Drug Administration to use cytisinicline in the United States as a method for those who wish to quit or reduce smoking.
The ideal candidates for the ORCA V-1 trial are current e-cigarette users, not smokers. They must set a quit date within one to two weeks of starting treatment and be evaluated based on their withdrawal symptoms through self-reporting and biochemical tests during weekly assessments. Additionally, they must be willing to actively participate in the smoking cessation support provided throughout the study.
Davis stated that the participants took the medication for 12 weeks.
In that moment, they hope that you can quit smoking nicotine. They are simply interested in seeing how many people can use it to quit nicotine," he said. "In smoking trials, it is highly effective. If you use this drug, your chances of quitting smoking combustible cigarettes seem to be six to eight times higher than when not using it.
Once the website has recruited 150 participants, the smoking cessation trial may continue until 2023. RCR is actively seeking candidates to participate in this study.
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