Pharmacotherapy for tobacco dependence
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 26, 2026

Creating Dynamic Images of Short-lived Dopamine Fluctuations with lp-ntPET: Dopamine Movies of Cigarette Smoking
Published on: August 6, 2013
Reginald V Fant1, August R Buchhalter, Albert C Buchman
1Pinney Associates, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA. rfant@pinneyassociates.com
Abstract:
Pharmacotherapy can provide effective treatment of tobacco dependence and withdrawal, and thereby facilitate efforts to achieve and sustain tobacco abstinence. Currently approved medications for smoking cessation are nicotine replacement medications (NRT), including nicotine patch, gum, lozenge, sublingual tablet, inhaler and nasal spray, the antidepressant bupropion, and the nicotinic partial agonist varenicline. This review discusses the pharmacological basis for the use of these medications, and the properties that might contribute to their efficacy, safety, and abuse liability. The review also discusses how pharmacological principles can be used to improve existing medications, as well as assist in the development of new medications.
Related Concept Videos
Drug Dependence
Drugs Acting on Autonomic Ganglia: Stimulants
Ganglionic stimulants activate NM nicotinic receptors in autonomic ganglia, falling into two categories: nicotine mimetics [e.g., lobeline, dimethylpiperazine, tetramethylammonium] and muscarinic receptor agonists [e.g., muscarine, methacholine]. The first category's action is rapid and blocked by nicotinic receptor antagonists, while the second category's action is delayed and blocked by atropine-like agents. Nicotine, an alkaloid, affects the heart rate by stimulating sympathetic or...
CNS Depressants: Alcohol and Nicotine
Drug Therapy
Antianxiety Medications
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease-V: Management
Smoking Cessation
Pharmaceutical Poisoning: Treatment Strategies
