Antidepressants for smoking cessation
Worth asking your prescriber whether bupropion, nicotine replacement, or varenicline is the best fit for you if quitting smoking is a goal, since bupropion works but was less effective than varenicline in this review.
Top of the evidence hierarchy, independently funded. how we score evidence
High-certainty evidence from 50 randomized trials (18,577 people) shows bupropion increases six-month-or-longer quit rates by about 60% versus placebo (risk ratio 1.60, 95% CI 1.49 to 1.72), with more dropouts due to side effects (RR 1.44) and no clear increase in serious adverse events (RR 1.16, CI includes 1).
Worth asking
Worth asking your prescriber whether bupropion, nicotine replacement, or varenicline is the best fit for you if quitting smoking is a goal, since bupropion works but was less effective than varenicline in this review.
What it is FDA approved for
Read off the label. Trial duration and approval year are shown only where they were recorded — never inferred.
- Major depressive disorder
- Prevention of seasonal major depressive episodes (seasonal affective disorder)
- Aid to smoking cessation
Source
Antidepressants for smoking cessation — Hajizadeh A, et al. (2023)
Top-tier peer-reviewed journal
Read the source: https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD000031.pub6
DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD000031.pub6
How this was scored
- Study design
- Meta-analysis of randomised trials
- Funding
- Independently funded
- Published in
- Top-tier peer-reviewed journal
- Sample size
- 18,577
- Preregistered
- No
- Conflicts disclosed
- Yes
- Independent of proponent
- Yes
- Retracted
- No
Read the full scoring rubric, including what it can't tell you.
Published August 19, 2026.
Questions
How strong is the evidence behind this?
Resolv rates this source "gold standard". Top of the evidence hierarchy, independently funded. It scores 94 out of 100 on our published rubric. The score is calculated from recorded facts about the source — study design, funding, publication venue, sample size, preregistration — not typed in by an editor.
What is the source for this?
Antidepressants for smoking cessation — Hajizadeh A, et al. (2023). Published in: Top-tier peer-reviewed journal. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD000031.pub6. The full source is linked on this page so you can read it yourself.
Who paid for this research, and does that matter?
Study design: Meta-analysis of randomised trials. Funding: Independently funded. The researchers were independent of whoever benefits from the result. Industry sponsorship is one of the most reliably measured biases in medicine, which is why funding carries real weight in the score rather than sitting in a footnote.
Is bupropion (Wellbutrin, Zyban, Aplenzin, Forfivo), wellbutrin, zyban, aplenzin, forfivo FDA approved?
Yes — FDA approved for Major depressive disorder, Prevention of seasonal major depressive episodes (seasonal affective disorder), Aid to smoking cessation. Approval is for a specific indication, not for everything the drug is prescribed for.
Is this medical advice?
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.