About the Blog Author-John R. Hughes, MD

John R. Hughes, MD is Professor of Psychiatry, Psychology and Family Practice at the University of Vermont. Dr. Hughes is board certified in Psychiatry and Addiction Psychiatry. His major focus has been clinical research on tobacco use. Dr. Hughes received the Ove Ferno Award for research in nicotine dependence and the Alton Ochsner Award Relating Smoking and Health. He is a co-founder and past president of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, and the Association for the Treatment of Tobacco Use and Dependence. Dr. Hughes has been Chair of the Vermont Tobacco Evaluation and Review Board which oversees VT’s multi-million dollar tobacco control programs. He has over 400 publications on nicotine and other drug dependencies and is one of the world’s most cited tobacco scientist. Dr. Hughes has been a consultant on tobacco policy to the World Health Organization, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the White House. His current research is on how tobacco users and marijuana users stop or reduce use on their own, novel methods to prompt quit attempts by such users, whether smoking cessation reduces reward sensitivity and whether stopping e-cigarettes causes withdrawal. Dr Hughes has received fees from companies who develop smoking cessation devices, medications and services, from governmental and academic institutions, and from public and private organizations that promote tobacco control.

News

  • Is Varenicline More Effective than NRT?

    In several studies of varenicline vs. placebo, the magnitude of benefit from varenicline appeared to be more than that usually obtained with NRT. Only two randomized trials have directly compared varenicline with NRT. One trial was a large (n=746), well done study (Thorax 63:717) that found varenicline was more effective than standard dose NRT (26% vs. 20% at 1 yr). The other study was a small (n=32) study (Circulation Journal 74:771) that compared varenicline to high dose nicotine patch (52.5 mg initially). It found very high success rates in both conditions and no difference between varenicline ...