ONE DRUG DESERVES ANOTHER –
May 8, 2025 – Varenicline, a prescription medication sold under the brand name Chantix, has been shown to help adults stop smoking. And a small clinical trial in adults found it may be effective for quitting vaping. Dr. McGee says, “Varenicline is now another medication option she would raise with her 16- and 17-year-old patients and their parents”
A challenge when helping patients under 18 quit, McGee says, is that state laws differ on whether drugs can be prescribed without parental consent. McGee encourages her patients to talk to their parents about quitting, unless the teen feels it’s unsafe to involve their parents. The school day can also pose logistical issues for the main medication option for teens, nicotine replacement therapy, which includes lozenges or gum to manage nicotine cravings. Their daytime use may require the school nurse to be involved, she says.
Varenicline, a prescription medication sold under the brand name Chantix, has been shown to help adults stop smoking. And a small clinical trial in adults found it may be effective for quitting vaping, researchers reported in 2024 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Varenicline binds to nicotine receptors in the brain, which can help lessen the rewarding feeling that nicotine induces and reduce withdrawal symptoms.
