Please select the outcome measures that correspond to the clinical trial below.
Title: Efficacy, Safety and Toxicology of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems as an Aid for Smoking Cessation (The ESTxENDS Trial)
Brief Summary: Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in Switzerland and still more than a quarter of the Swiss population smokes cigarettes. Recently, electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS; also called vaporizer or electronic cigarette) have become popular with smokers who want to stop smoking or reduce their exposure to inhaled chemicals since ENDS use appears to be safer than tobacco smoking. Only two rigorous randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the efficacy of ENDS to help smokers quit have been published so far. They have promising, yet inconclusive results, as the number of included participants were small. The safety and potential adverse effects of ENDS are also largely unknown. While the aerosol the users inhale appears safe in laboratory conditions, the difference in exposure to chemicals (such as reduction in exposure to volatile organic compounds) and effects of chemicals on the body (adverse events, improved health-related outcomes and measures of oxidative stress) between smokers who quit (with or without ENDS) and those who use ENDS for a long time have not yet been assessed in an RCT.

This study will therefore test the efficacy of ENDS for cigarette smoking cessation, the safety of ENDS on adverse events and the effect of ENDS on health-related outcomes and exposure to inhaled chemicals.

The primary hypothesis of this trial is that providing cigarette smokers willing to quit smoking tobacco cigarettes with ENDS leads to a higher rate of smokers who quit cigarette smoking than only smoking cessation counseling with nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), which represents nowadays the standard of care.

For this trial, cigarette smokers motivated to quit smoking cigarettes will be included. Participants in the intervention group will receive an ENDS and nicotine-containing e-liquids, which they will be allowed to use ad libitum. Additionally, they will receive smoking cessation counseling. Participants in the control group will receive smoking cessation counseling only. Participants in both groups will be allowed to additionally use nicotine replacement therapy. All participants will be followed over a 6-month period. Smoking cessation counseling will be provided in person at the first clinical visit and then over the phone at the target quit date and again at week 1, 2, 4 and 8 after the target quit date. After 6 months, participants will be asked to come to a final clinical visit.


Options:
A: Seven-day point prevalence and treatment or treatment strategy (At week 6); Main effects of varenicline and nicotine patch + lozenge on smokers who remain on these medications throughout the trial as documented in questionnaires (Up to 12 weeks); Probability of response at week 12 conditional on response at week 6 and continuation of treatment (At 12 weeks); Probability of response at week 12 conditional on non-response at week 6 and continuation of treatment (At 12 weeks); Probability of response at week 12 conditional on non-response at week 6 and augmentation of treatment (At 12 weeks); Probability of response at week 12 conditional on non-response at week 6 and treatment switching (At 12 weeks); Probability that treatment continuation, switching, or augmentation confers benefit conditional upon failing to quit after the initial treatment with nicotine patch + lozenge for six weeks (12 weeks); Probability that treatment continuation, switching, or augmentation confers benefit conditional upon failing to quit after initial treatment with varenicline for six weeks (12 weeks)
B: Number of Responders With Carbon Monoxide (CO) Confirmed 4-week Continuous Quit Rate (CQR) for Last 4 Weeks of Treatment (Trtmt) (weeks 9 through 12)
C: Continuous smoking abstinence (1) (6 months post quit date)
D: Maximum Nicotine Concentration in Blood (180 minutes following the start of the controlled product use session on Day 2 (12 measurements over the period)); Concentration of Carboxyhemoglobin in Blood (Baseline and 8 days); Amount of 4-(Methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol in Urine in 24 Hours (Baseline and 8 days); Amount of 3-hydroxypropylmercapturic Acid in Urine in 24 Hours (Baseline and 8 days); Amount of S-phenyl Mercapturic Acid in Urine in 24 Hours (Baseline and 8 days)

Answer: C