A Placebo Controlled Trial of Varenicline for Smoking among those with HIV/AIDS

This program is designed to help individuals with HIV/AIDS to quit smoking and involves the use of varenicline (brand name Chantix), an FDA-approved smoking cessation medication. First, you will be randomly chosen to receive either Chantix or a placebo (a pill with inactive ingredients) for 12 weeks. Chantix is an oral medication taken each day for 12 weeks which has been shown to be effective in helping the general population to quit smoking, but it has not been well-studied with smokers with HIV/AIDS. Second, everyone will also receive professional behavioral counseling for quitting smoking. This will involve 6 in-person sessions at our research center over the course of 9 weeks. The sessions last from 15 minutes to 60 minutes and focus on developing strategies to help you quit smoking and avoid relapse. Third, during 4 appointments, you will be asked to complete computer tasks that test your memory and cognitive functioning. Lastly, we will ask you to complete brief surveys before you begin the medication, and then at 9 other times during the entire 24-week (6-month) study. The surveys are completed before your counseling sessions and you will be given $15 for your time (you will receive $20 for assessment at week 3 and week 12 because we will also take a small blood sample). At week 12, week 18, and week 24 we may also ask you to provide a urine sample to determine if you have quit smoking.