Background Information on the Study
Our approach to quitting & staying quit combines our expertise in both medicine & health behavior.
The purpose of this clinical research program is to find out if we can make the medication Chantix (varenicline) work even better for more people, by taking it for a few extra weeks before quitting.
People who participate receive the best quit-smoking approach available at no cost to them.
- Free Chantix (varenicline), the best, most effective medication available. All patients will be taking Chantix for 1-4 weeks before quitting, and we will use this time to help you make a plan for quitting.
- Free brief one-on-one coaching to develop a great plan for quitting and staying quit.
Together we hope that this project will give us insight on how to make quitting more simple and successful, in a way that is easy for health care providers to use with their patients.
Participants will be compensated for their time.
How This Study Affects & Helps the Community
We Want to Make Quitting More Simple & Successful
Participating in this program not only helps over 300 WNY smokers quit by giving them the best-quit smoking treatment available at no cost, but it is part of a larger goal to conduct a long-term evaluation of how to make quitting more simple and successful.
As a clinical research study, or clinical trial, funded by the National Institutes of Health, the program will help scientists and health care providers to better understand how to help people to quit smoking.
Program Leadership
Dr. Hawk and Dr. Mahoney have been working together to help the WNY Community quit smoking for over 15 years.
Larry Hawk, Ph.D
Larry Hawk, Ph.D is a Professor of Psychology at the University at Buffalo and member of the Cancer Prevention Program at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. His research has been focused on understanding the contributors to starting & continuing smoking, helping individuals quit, and developing better ways for Western New Yorkers to quit. More specifically, he has focused on laboratory, clinical, and community studies of the role of reinforcement in smoking initiation and escalation (e.g., Colder, Hawk, et al., 2013), the impact of abstinence from smoking on reinforcement (e.g., Ashare & Hawk, 2012), and the ability of nicotine and varenicline to improve the basic reinforcement processes.
Martin Mahoney, M.D., Ph.D
Martin Mahoney, M.D., Ph.D, is a Physician, Researcher, and Professor at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and the University at Buffalo- School of Public Health and Health Professions. His research has focused on cancer prevention and control topics, including promoting smoking cessation through innovative clinical trials of existing and emerging pharmacotherapies and exploring population-based treatments.