Effectiveness of an Enhanced Tobacco Intervention Protocol Compared to Standard Treatment in Helping Head and Neck and Lung Cancer Patients Starting Treatment to Reduce Cigarette Use

Prior treatment

• Contraindications to nicotine replacement therapy:
  • All free flap patients: Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and tobacco products must not be used by these patients for at least 2 weeks before and 2 weeks after free flap surgery. For planned procedures involving face and breast, tobacco and NRT use should be avoided 4 weeks before and 4 weeks after surgery
  • Patients in the immediate (within 2 weeks) post myocardial infarction period or who have serious arrhythmias or unstable angina pectoris
  • Patient who are hemodynamically or electrically unstable or have had orthopedic surgery or a serious fracture(s) within the past 6 weeks
  • Patients with known allergy or hypersensitivity to NRT, or severe skin reactions like Steven's Johnson syndrome
• Contraindications to bupropion or varenicline:
  • Pre-existing seizure disorder or conditions that increase the risk of seizures (e.g., severe head trauma, arteriovenous malformation, central nervous system (CNS) tumor (e.g., brain tumor or intracranial mass), CNS infection, severe stroke, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa
  • Patients undergoing abrupt discontinuation of alcohol, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, and antiepileptic drugs
  • Concomitant use of anti-depressants
  • Patients with known allergy or hypersensitivity to bupropion or varenicline, or severe skin reactions like Steven's Johnson syndrome

Other illness

• Patients with psychiatric disorders with indications of current uncontrolled illness, or patients currently being treated on psychiatric medications
• Patients with expected survival of less than 6 months or other medical illness that would prevent participation as determined by the treating clinician
• Severe swallowing disorders or other illness that would impede a patient's ability to swallow medications in pill form

Other

• Patients not fluent in English will be excluded, as the counselling component of the intervention is only available in English
• Pregnant or breastfeeding women
• Patients with impaired judgement or those unable to provide informed consent

• Provide signed written informed consent document
• New patients opting to receive cancer care at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (TJUH) or Methodist with suspected or newly diagnosed head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) or non-small cell carcinoma of the lung
• Must have a life expectancy of at least 6 months as judged by the treating physician
• Willing to discuss changing their smoking behavior
• Patients have smoked \> 100 cigarettes in their lifetime and have smoked within the last 30 days
• Subjects must read and speak fluent English