Please select the eligibility criteria that correspond to the clinical trial below.
Title: Combination Bupropion / Varenicline for Smoking Cessation in Male Smokers
Brief Summary: Previous results from the investigators' Center have shown that combination treatment with Chantix and Zyban is more successful in helping men quit smoking. The investigators hope to replicate these findings with this study.


Options:
A: Inclusion Criteria:

* Have no known serious medical conditions;
* Male;
* Are 18-65 years old;
* Smoke an average of at least 10 cigarettes per day;
* Have smoked at least one cumulative year;
* Have an expired air carbon monoxide (CO) reading of at least 10ppm;
* Able to read and understand English;
* Express a desire to quit smoking in the next thirty days.

Potential subjects must agree to use acceptable contraception.

Potential subjects must agree to avoid the following:

* participation in any other nicotine-related modification strategy outside of this protocol;
* use of tobacco products other than cigarettes, including pipe tobacco, cigars, e-cigarettes, snuff, and chewing tobacco;
* use of experimental (investigational) drugs or devices;
* use of illegal drugs;
* use of opiate medications.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Hypertension;
* Hypotension with symptoms;
* Coronary heart disease;
* Lifetime history of heart attack;
* Cardiac rhythm disorder (irregular heart rhythm);
* Chest pains (unless history, exam, and electrocardiogram (ECG) clearly indicate a non-cardiac source);
* Cardiac (heart) disorder (including but not limited to valvular heart disease, heart murmur, heart failure);
* History of skin allergy;
* Active skin disorder (e.g., psoriasis) within the last five years;
* Liver or kidney disorder (except kidney stones, gallstones);
* Gastrointestinal problems or disease other than gastroesophageal reflux or heartburn;
* Active ulcers in the past 30 days;
* Currently symptomatic lung disorder/disease (including but not limited to Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema, and asthma);
* Brain abnormality (including but not limited to stroke, brain tumor, and seizure disorder);
* Migraine headaches that occur more frequently than once per week;
* Recent, unexplained fainting spells;
* Problems giving blood samples;
* Diabetes treated with insulin; non-insulin treated diabetes (unless glucose is less than 180mg/dcl and HbA1c is less than 7%);
* Current cancer or treatment for cancer in the past six months (except basal or squamous cell skin cancer);
* Other major medical condition;
* Current psychiatric disease (with the exception of anxiety disorders, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and ADHD);
* Suicidal ideation (within the past 10 years) or lifetime occurrence of attempted suicide;
* Current depression;
* Bulimia or anorexia;
* Use of opiate medications for pain or sleep (non-opiate medication for pain or sleep will be allowed) within the past 14 days;
* Smoking more than one cigar a month.
* Alcohol abuse;
* Significant adverse reaction to nicotine patches, bupropion / Wellbutrin / Zyban or Chantix / varenicline in the past.
* Current participation or recent participation (in the past 30 days) in another smoking study at our Center or another research facility.
* Current participation in another research study.

Use (within the past 30 days) of:

* Illegal drugs (or if the urine drug screen is positive for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), Cocaine, Amphetamine, Opiates, Methamphetamines, phencyclidine (PCP), Benzodiazepines, or Barbiturates),
* Experimental (investigational) drugs;
* Psychiatric medications including antidepressants, anti-psychotics or any other medications that are known to affect smoking cessation (e.g. clonidine);
* Smokeless tobacco (chewing tobacco, snuff), pipes or e-cigarettes;
* Wellbutrin, bupropion, Zyban, Chantix, varenicline, nicotine replacement therapy or any other smoking cessation aid.
B: DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

* Smokes 10 or more cigarettes/day over the past year AND ≥ 5 cigarettes/day within the past week
* Planning to stop smoking in 4-6 weeks
* Member of Group Health Cooperative (GHC) and planning to stay enrolled for the next 6 months
* Eligible for the Free \& Clear program
* Enrolled in the COMPASS study using bupropion hydrochloride medication
* No prior participation in GHC's Free \& Clear smoking cessation program within the past 6 months

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

* In good general health
* Sufficient verbal and written English
* Dependable access to a telephone and the Internet
* Not currently drinking ≥ 14 alcoholic drinks per week and/or binge drinking ≥ 2 times in the past month
* Not pregnant or nursing
* No plan to become pregnant
* No severe chronic heart disease (e.g, myocardial infarction within the past 3 months)
* No severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease that ever required hospitalization or oxygen treatment
* No diagnosis of or treatment for a psychotic disorder (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or mania)
* Not having certain kidney problems

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

* See Disease Characteristics
* No concurrent use of medications contraindicated with bupropion hydrochloride or known to lower seizure threshold (e.g., antidepressant, antipsychotic, monamine oxidase inhibitor, or protease inhibitor)
* No concurrent use of recreational or street drugs
* No concurrent use of bupropion hydrochloride or nicotine replacement therapy
* No concurrent cimetidine, metformin, phenformin, pindolol, procainamide
* Not on dialysis
C: Inclusion Criteria:

1. Current cigarette smokers, male and female, aged between 18-75 years (both limits inclusive), and who are motivated to stop smoking.
2. Have smoked on average at least 10 cigarettes per day during past year and during the month prior to screening, and no period of abstinence greater than 3 months in the past year.
3. Women of child-bearing potential (WCBP) may be included provided they are not pregnant, not nursing, and meet all of the following criteria:

   * instructed and agree to avoid pregnancy through 30 days after the last dose of study medication
   * negative screening test (beta-HCG) at screening
   * agree to use at least one birth control method (oral contraceptive, IUD, implantable or injectable contraceptive for at least 1 month prior to entering the study and will continue its use through at least 30 days after the last dose of study medication, or use a barrier method of contraception (p.e.condom, diaphragm with spermicide) while participating in the study through at least 30 days after the last dose of study medication; or abstinence.
4. Patients must have no serious or unstable disease in the past 6 months.
5. Patients must be able to be outpatients, to be assessed in a clinical setting, and be able and willing to comply with all study visits during the treatment and non-treatment periods.
6. Only one subject per household may participate.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Patients currently suffering from depression or who have been diagnosed with depression or treated with anti-depressants within the past 12 months.
2. Patients with a past of present history of psychosis, panic disorder, or bipolar disorder.
3. Patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
4. Patients with clinically significant cardiovascular disease in the past 6 months. such as myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), severe or unstable angina, serious arrhythmia, and clinically significant ECG conduction abnormalities.
5. Patients with uncontrolled hypertension or a systolic blood pressure greater than 150mmHg or as diastolic pressure greater than 95mmHg at screening or baseline.
6. Patients with clinically significant neurological disorders or cerebrovascular diseases (for example, stroke, transient ischemic attack, etc.) in the past 6 months.
7. Patients with a history of clinically significant endocrine disorders or gastrointestinal diseases, including insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, uncontrolled hyperthyroidism, and active peptic ulcer.
8. Patients with clinically significant hepatic or renal impairment or other clinically significant abnormal laboratory test values.
9. Patients with a history of cancer (cured basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin allowed).
10. Patients with a history of clinically significant allergic reactions to drugs (for example, severe cutaneous and/or systemic allergic reactions).
11. Patients with a history of drug (except nicotine) or alcohol abuse or dependence within the past 12 months.
12. Patients with a body mass index (BMI) less than 15 or greater than 38 when wearing indoor clothing without shoes. No subject will be enrolled with a weight less than 45.5kg (100 pounds).
13. Patients previously enrolled in a study that included varenicline.
14. Patients having used nicotine replacement therapy within the last 6 months.
15. Patients taking another investigational drug within 30 days or 5 half-lives (whichever is longer) before the Baseline visit or within 30 days of study completion.
16. Use of prohibited medications: any antidepressants, including bupropion; antipsychotic agents; mood stabilizers; naltrexone; steroids (inhaled and topical steroids are permitted); insulin.
17. Patients who do not agree to completely abstain from using non-cigarette tobacco products (including for example, pipe tobacco, cigars, snuff, chewing tobacco, etc.) or marijuana during study participation.
18. Patients who intend to donate blood or blood components while receiving study drug or within 1 month of the completion of the study treatment.
19. Patients unable/or unlikely to comprehend and follow the study protocol, including patients unable and/or unwilling to participate in the non-treatment follow-up. Patients who, in the investigator's opinion, will be unlikely to commit to a 6 month-long study.
20. Other severe acute or chronic medical or psychiatric condition or laboratory abnormality that may increase the risk associated with study participation or investigational product administration or may interfere with the interpretation of study results and, in the judgment of the investigator, would make the subject inappropriate for entry into this study.
D: We are only recruiting by invitation only (to members of our past cohort). We will open up enrollment to the public in the Madison, WI and Milwaukee WI areas at the end of 2012.

Inclusion Criteria:

a. To be eligible for the Comparative effectiveness trial, participants must:

* smoke 5 or more cigarettes per day,
* desire to quit smoking but not be currently engaged in cessation treatment,
* be medically eligible to use either combination NRT or varenicline,
* have reliable phone access,
* if female, must not be pregnant and must be willing to use an acceptable birth control method.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. There are no exclusion criteria for participating in the main health outcomes study, other than being unwilling to complete study assessments.
2. All smoking participants from new and original cohorts will be excluded from the cessation trial for the following reasons:

   * end-stage renal disease with hemodialysis;
   * prior suicide attempts within the last 5 years or current suicidal ideation;
   * diagnosis of and/or treatment for schizophrenia;
   * other psychotic disorders or bipolar disorder within the last 10 years;
   * current PHQ-9 score indicative of moderately severe depression;
   * severe untreated hypertension \>200/100 mmHg;
   * currently taking Wellbutrin, Zyban or bupropion;
   * hospitalized for a stroke, heart attack, congestive heart failure or diabetes within the last year;
   * used pipe tobacco, cigars, snuff or chew more than twice in the past week.

It should be noted that if any incidental findings appear in any of the cardiology tests (e.g., ultrasound, tonometry, ECG, or exercise stress test; see forms in Supplemental Information section of application), the study cardiologist (Dr. Stein or his designee) will be assign the participant to the non-randomized treatment arm and they will be given the nicotine patch and the same counseling intervention as CET participants. They will not be included in the CET analyses. This will be done to properly address the cardiovascular risk warning from the FDA regarding varenicline (Chantix).

Answer: A