Completed

Maintaining Nonsmoking: Older Smokers

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What is being tested

Nicotine polacrilex, Bupropion

Drug
Who is being recruted

Mental Disorders
+1

+ Tobacco Use Disorder
+ Substance-Related Disorders
Over 50 Years
See all eligibility criteria
How is the trial designed

Treatment Study

Phase 3
Interventional
Study Start: September 2001
See protocol details

Summary

Principal SponsorUniversity of California, San Francisco
Last updated: January 14, 2026
Sourced from a government-validated database.Claim as a partner
Study start date: September 1, 2001Actual date on which the first participant was enrolled.

The overall goals of this line of research were to prevent relapse to cigarette smoking, and to understand the processes related to smoking and relapse. The specific aims of the current study were to test a series of hypotheses about the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of long-term, tailored interventions in chronic, older smokers and the interaction of these interventions with gender and depression. Participants were 50 years or older and smoker 10 or more cigarettes per day. Baseline assessments includes measures of smoking behavior, nicotine dependence, depression diagnosis, demographics and life circumstances and measures of anger, depression and mood disturbance, stress, social support, health status, motivation for changed and drug and alcohol use.

Official TitleMaintaining Nonsmoking: Older Smokers 
NCT00086385
Principal SponsorUniversity of California, San Francisco
Last updated: January 14, 2026
Sourced from a government-validated database.Claim as a partner

Protocol

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.
Design Details
403 patients to be enrolledTotal number of participants that the clinical trial aims to recruit.
Treatment Study
These studies test new ways to treat a disease, condition, or health issue. The goal is to see if a new drug, therapy, or approach works better or has fewer side effects than existing options.

How participants are assigned to different groups/arms
In this clinical study, participants are placed into groups randomly, like flipping a coin. This ensures that the study is fair and unbiased, making the results more reliable. By assigning participants by chance, researchers can better compare treatments without external influences.

Other Ways to Assign Participants
Non-randomized allocation: Participants are assigned based on specific factors, such as their medical condition or a doctor's decision.
None (Single-arm trial): If the study has only one group, all participants receive the same treatment, and no allocation is needed.

How treatments are given to participants
Participants are divided into different groups, each receiving a specific treatment at the same time. This helps researchers compare how well different treatments work against each other.

Other Ways to Assign Treatments
Single-group assignment: Everyone gets the same treatment.
Cross-over assignment: Participants switch between treatments during the study.
Factorial assignment: Participants receive different combinations of treatments.
Sequential assignment: Participants receive treatments one after another in a specific order, possibly based on individual responses.
Other assignment: Treatment assignment does not follow a standard or predefined design.

How the effectiveness of the treatment is controlled
In a non placebo-controlled study, no participants receive an inert substance (placebo) to compare outcomes. Instead, all participants receive either the experimental treatment or an alternative treatment (often the Standard of Care). This method allows researchers to compare the effects of the experimental treatment with those of a different active intervention, rather than a placebo.

Other Options
Placebo-Controlled: A placebo is used to compare the effects of the experimental treatment with those of an inert substance, isolating the true treatment effect.

How the interventions assigned to participants is kept confidential
Everyone involved in the study knows which treatment is being given. This is typically used when it's not possible or necessary to hide the treatment details from participants or researchers.

Other Ways to Mask Information
Single-blind: Participants do not know which treatment they are receiving, but researchers do.
Double-blind: Neither participants nor researchers know which treatment is given.
Triple-blind: Participants, researchers, and outcome assessors do not know which treatment is given.
Quadruple-blind: Participants, researchers, outcome assessors, and care providers all do not know which treatment is given.

Eligibility

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria: person's general health condition or prior treatments.
Conditions
Criteria
Any sexBiological sex of participants that are eligible to enroll.
Over 50 YearsRange of ages for which participants are eligible to join.
Healthy volunteers allowedIf individuals who are healthy and do not have the condition being studied can participate.
Conditions
Pathology
Mental Disorders
Tobacco Use Disorder
Substance-Related Disorders
Chemically-Induced Disorders
Criteria

smokers of at least 10 cigarettes per day Inclusion Criteria: MULTIPLE Exclusion Criteria: MULTIPLE

Study Plan

Find out more about all the medication administered in this study, their detailed description and what they involve.
Treatment Groups
Study Objectives
4 intervention groups 

are designated in this study

This study does not include a placebo group 

Treatment Groups
Group I
Active Comparator
Pharmacological Treatment - Subjects received 12 weeks of bupropion treatment and 10 weeks of nicotine replacement treatment (NRT) Brief Counseling - The counseling intervention consisted of five 90-minute group meetings. There was no further treatment during Weeks 12-52.

Subjects receive 12 weeks of bupropion treatment and 10 weeks of nicotine replacement.
Group II
Experimental
Pharmacological Treatment - Following completion of the Brief Treatment, subjects assigned to this condition would continue receiving NRT for up to 52 weeks. Subjects in this condition would be encouraged to continue NRT through Week 24. If a subject terminated NRT and resumed smoking, before Week 50, would be instructed to set a quit date and resume NRT. Counseling Treatment - This is identical to the Brief Counseling described above.

Subjects receive 12 weeks of bupropion treatment and 10 weeks of nicotine replacement.
Group III
Experimental
Tailored Counseling Treatment- The primary goal of the extended treatment was to prevent relapse. Secondary goal was to encourage initiation of abstinence for those who have not attained it by Week 12, and re-initiation of abstinence after slips. Subjects would participate in the Brief Treatment followed by individual sessions. The first extended treatment counseling session would occur at Week 10. Additional sessions would be held every two weeks then every four weeks, and finally at Weeks 44 and 52. Each session would be 20-30 minutes long. Between sessions subjects would be contacted by phone for brief check-ins (5-10 minutes).

Subjects receive 12 weeks of bupropion treatment and 10 weeks of nicotine replacement.
Group IV
Experimental
This condition was identical to the Tailored/NRT condition except that no NRT was available after completion of the Brief Treatment.

Subjects receive 12 weeks of bupropion treatment and 10 weeks of nicotine replacement.
Study Objectives
Primary Objectives

Primary outcome variable was 7-day point prevalence cigarette abstinence verified biochemically at week 104

Study Centers

These are the hospitals, clinics, or research facilities where the trial is being conducted. You can find the location closest to you and its status.
This study has 1 location
Suspended
San FranciscoSan Francisco, United StatesSee the location
CompletedOne Study Center