Smoking: silver acetate does not clearly increase quit rates

Clinical bottom line (level 1a-)

  1. Smokers who take silver acetate compared with placebo are not clearly more likely not to be smoking at 6 months.
Lancaster and Stead: Cochrane Library 2001; 2 : -
Expires May 2004

The study

Systematic review of all randomised trials of
  • Patients: smoker
  • Intervention: silver acetate compared with placebo or other smoking cessation interventions
  • Outcome:

Articles found in ?all languages using Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group trials register (including Medline, PsycLit, Embase, (search terms: detailed in text) and hand-searching of specialist journals, conference proceedings and reference lists of previous trials and overviews

Selection criteria: by 2 independent reviewers
Appraisal criteria: by 2 independent reviewers based on randomisation, concealment allocation, blinding
Articles excluded if:
  • follow-up for < 6 months
2 RCTs found involving 480 patients

The evidence

Outcome Time to outcome CER OR
(95% CI)		 NNT
(95% CI)
abstinent 6 months 9/241
(3.7%)		 1.05
(0.63 to 1.73) 		560
(NNT = 39 to infinity;
NNH = 74 to infinity)

Citation

  1. Lancaster T, and Stead LF: silver acetate for smoking cessation. Cochrane Library 2001; 2 : -
Search Terms: smoking and cessation in Cochrane Library
Contributor: Chris Ball, May 2002
Reviewer:

Clinical Question.
Patient smokers
Intervention or Exposure silver acetate
Comparison placebo or other intervention
Outcome quit smoking at 6 months