Smoking cessation medications do not increase the risk of serious cardiovascular (CV) adverse events during or after treatment, a recent study found. The randomized clinical trial compared the relative CV safety risk of varenicline, bupropion, and nicotine patch in a general population of smokers at 140 multinational centers. Smokers who received at least 1 dose of study medication (n=8,058), as well as a subset of those who completed 12 weeks of treatment plus 12 weeks of follow-up and agreed to be followed up for an additional 28 weeks (n=4,595), were included. The primary end point was the time to development of major adverse CV events during treatment. Researchers found:

• The incidence of CV events during treatment and follow-up was low and did not differ significantly by treatment.
• No significant treatment differences were observed in time to CV events, blood pressure, or heart rate.
• In either varenicline or bupropion treatment vs placebo, no significant difference in time to onset of major adverse cardiovascular events was observed.