Can switching meds or using E-Cigs help smokers quit for good?
NCT ID NCT06118502
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Aug 13, 2026 · Updated 4 times
Summary
This study tests whether changing treatment can help smokers who relapse early after trying to quit. 544 participants who want to quit smoking will receive free nicotine patches, lozenges, varenicline, or e-cigarettes for 12 weeks. All visits are remote, and the study lasts 6 months with 8 surveys.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- nicotine replacement therapy (patches/lozenges), varenicline, or e-cigarettes
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could provide a personalized strategy to help smokers who struggle to quit with standard medications.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-stage behavioral study without a control group, so results may not prove which approach works best. E-cigarettes carry their own health risks.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
-
Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
-
About 544 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
-
Mar 2024
- Expected to finish
-
Mar 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
-
Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
-
21 years and older
- Sex
-
Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
-
Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Smokers who want to quit Exclusion Criteria: * Non-smokers
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Cigarette smoking are added.
Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
-
The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
-
The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
-
A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
Medical University of South Carolina
RECRUITINGCharleston, South Carolina, 29425, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Texts and wearables team up to help latinos quit smoking and get moving
- Can a WhatsApp message help smokers quit?
- Can viral markers predict who survives hepatitis b liver failure?
- Can a brain scan tailor TMS to quiet cigarette cravings?
- Practice quitting: a new way to help smokers who Aren't ready to stop?
- Can a combined program help veterans in substance use care quit smoking?