Research Article
Effect of Full-Dose Ondansetron on Tobacco Use among Male Alcohol- Dependent Outpatients - A Preliminary Study
Joao Maria Corrêa Filho1 and Danilo Antonio Baltieri1,2*1Department of Psychiatry, University of São Paulo, Brazil
2Department of Psychiatry of ABC Medical School, Santo Andre, Sao Paulo, Brazil
- *Corresponding Author:
- Danilo Antonio Baltieri
Avenida Angélica, nº 2100
conjunto 13. CEP: 01228-200, São Paulo, S.P. Brazil
Tel: +5511-3120-6896
E-mail: dbaltieri@uol.com.br
Received date: April 27, 2013; Accepted date: May 13, 2013; Published date: May 24, 2013
Citation: Filho JMC, Baltieri DA (2013) Effect of Full-Dose Ondansetron on Tobacco Use among Male Alcohol-Dependent Outpatients - A Preliminary Study. J Addict Res Ther 4:150. doi:10.4172/2155-6105.1000150
Copyright: © 2013 Filho JMC, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Background: Alcohol and nicotine act synergistically so that individuals dependent on alcohol have higher rates of nicotine dependence, and smokers tend to consume more ethanol than non-smoking alcohol users. A type of pharmacological therapy which deals with both conditions simultaneously can be extremely welcome. This study aims to evaluate if ondansetron influences the number of cigarettes smoked and the quantity of ethanol consumed among alcoholic smokers who completed the treatment.
Method: This research primarily evaluated the efficacy and safety of ondansetron at a 16 mg/day dosage to treat alcohol- and nicotine-dependent outpatients. A double-blind, placebo-controlled, 12-week study was carried out at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. The total sample comprised 65 men, 18-60 years of age, with International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) diagnoses of alcohol and nicotine dependencies.
Results: Thirty-eight subjects (58.5%) completed this study. Ondansetron at a 16 mg/day dosage was no more effective than placebo in decreasing the mean number of cigarettes smoked and increasing the proportion of alcohol abstinence throughout this study among alcoholic smokers who completed the treatment.
Conclusions: Our study is in line with other trials that did not prove efficacy of ondansetron for smoking cessation.