[Bupropion combined with nicotine patches in smoking cessation]

Smoking cessation is a first-line treatment for patients with bronchial and pulmonary diseases. Various strategies have been developed to help patients quit. Bupropion, a drug initially developed as an antidepressant, has recently been shown to have effects that increase the ability of a smoker to quit. This descriptive study, enrolling 86 patients who volunteered for a smoking cessation program, assesses the use of 300 mg of bupropion over a 4-week period combined with 12 weeks of nicotine patch application at doses that were lowered every 4 weeks. Abstinence was achieved by 69% of patients after 6 months of follow-up and no significant side effects were described. The percentage decreased to 58.6% after one year of follow-up. No significant differences were found between success in quitting in this study and either the number of prior attempts to quit or concomitant respiratory disease. We conclude that bupropion combined with transdermal nicotine is a good option to aid patients to achieve smoking cessation.