Non-nicotine pharmacotherapy for smoking cessation

The selection of a non-nicotine treatment is based on the acceptability of various treatments with smokes, the ability to address the specific neurobi ology of nicotine addiction, and the option to provide treatment for co-mor bid conditions of nicotine-dependent patients. The search for effective tre atments for nicotine dependence has generated a wide variety of non-nicotin e approaches based on the neuropharmacologic and sensory basis for tobacco use. The only non-nicotine, FDA-approved medication is bupropion, an amino- ketone agent that is believed to work on the dopaminergic and noradrenergic neurotransmitters involved in perpetuating nicotine dependence. This artic le reviews other unapproved medications, mechanisms of action, and their ef fectiveness in clinical trials.