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Women who smoke are more vulnerable than men to the serious health outcomes of smoking, and women are less successful than men at quitting.
The drug varenicline (Chantix) reduces tobacco craving, withdrawal symptoms and the reinforcing effects of smoking. So researchers at Yale University investigated whether the efficacy of the drug is different for women compared with men. After 12 weeks of varenicline treatment, the odds of women quitting had increased 4.95 times, compared with 3.42 times for men, according to a meta-analysis of 6,710 smokers (34% female) from 16 randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies[1]
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Varenicline was equally effective in women and men at one-year follow-up, and the researchers considered it especially important for addressing gender differences often seen in smoking cessation rates.
References
[1] McKee SA, Smith PH, Kaufman M et al. Sex differences in varenicline efficacy for smoking cessation: a meta-analysis. Nicotine & Tobacco Research 2015:1−10. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntv207
