Reduce Tobacco Use in People Living With HIV in Switzerland

NCT ID: NCT06789692

Last Updated: 2025-11-18

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

972 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2025-02-20

Study Completion Date

2027-12-31

Brief Summary

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The purpose of this trial is to test the effectiveness of offering a menu of different tobacco smoking substitutional products (e-cigarettes, nicotine pouches, nicotine patches in addition to usual of care) for smokers in the SHCS (Swiss HIV Cohort Study) in achieving self-reported 7-day tobacco cigarette abstinence at 6 months.

Detailed Description

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Due to highly effective antiretroviral therapy, people living with HIV (PLWH) in Switzerland have a close-to-normal life expectancy. Among PLWH, there has been a shift of focus from HIV-related health issues to non communicable diseases, especially cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and cancer. Smoking, a prominent risk factor for both diseases, takes a key role in view of the high number of smokers among PLWH.

New approaches to smoking cessation focus on harm reduction by substituting tobacco cigarettes by less harmful alternatives. Conventional nicotine replacement therapy like nicotine patches is well established and effective against withdrawal symptoms after quitting. However, these products are exceptionally expensive and the missing "nicotine hit" often limits therapy adherence. The long-term abstinence rate remains low. Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) and nicotine pouches as alternative nicotine replacement therapies have the potential to overcome these problems and are accessible.

E-cigarettes play a growing role in smoking cessation therapy. Evidence from randomized trials shows superiority over conventional nicotine replacement therapies, which is probably based on the better imitation of the smoking experience. Although e-cigarettes are not without concerns, there is consensus that they are significantly less harmful than tobacco cigarettes.

Tobacco-free nicotine pouches, delivering nicotine through oral mucosa, are a relatively novel option for nicotine substitution. Similar to e-cigarettes, nicotine pouches are relatively affordable and can address the limitation of poor imitation of the "nicotine hit" seen with traditional nicotine replacement therapy. To the best of our knowledge, no trials have investigated the potential of nicotine pouches for smoking cessation so far.

With this trial, the investigators also want to address frequent shortcomings of smoking cessation trials, such as restrictive inclusion criteria and highly controlled interventions, by RETUNE Version 1.1, January 06, 2025 10/45 offering a menu of different tobacco smoking substitutional products (e-cigarettes or nicotine pouches or nicotine patches) and by using a novel pragmatic trial design, the Trials within Cohorts (TwiCs) design. The investigators plan to recruit tobacco smokers in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study (SHCS), regardless of their willingness to quit. This so called "opt-out-approach" has been suggested as a new promising approach for smoking cessation trials to increase generalizability of the results. The TwiCs design optimally allows to implement and evaluate the "opt-out" approach embedded in the SHCS.

Conditions

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HIV Smoking

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Randomized Clinical Trial using the Trials within Cohorts (TwiCs) design
Primary Study Purpose

PREVENTION

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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Smoking substitution menu

Offer of preference-based smoking substitution menu, consisting of e-cigarettes or nicotine pouches or nicotine patches in addition to standard of care.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

tobacco smoking substitution products

Intervention Type OTHER

Offer of preference-based smoking substitution menu, consisting of e-cigarettes or nicotine pouches or nicotine patches in addition to standard of care. This menu will be offered by the treating physician during the routine cohort visit and the participant can choose one product to test as an alternative to tobacco smoking. The products will be handed out directly after the consultation and are provided free of charge for 6 months.

Standard of care group

Standard smoking cessation counselling according to routine care in the SHCS.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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tobacco smoking substitution products

Offer of preference-based smoking substitution menu, consisting of e-cigarettes or nicotine pouches or nicotine patches in addition to standard of care. This menu will be offered by the treating physician during the routine cohort visit and the participant can choose one product to test as an alternative to tobacco smoking. The products will be handed out directly after the consultation and are provided free of charge for 6 months.

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Signed informed consent for the data collection and participation in the SHCS (Cohort consent).
* Signed informed consent to be randomized to future interventions (Randomization consent).
* Age 18 years or older.
* Smoked one or more tobacco cigarettes per day (smoking status = yes) at the time of enrolment.

Exclusion Criteria

* Currently using e-cigarettes or nicotine pouches or nicotine patches.
* Pregnant women.
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Swiss National Science Foundation

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Novartis Foundation for Medical-Biological Research

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role collaborator

University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Matthias Briel, Prof.

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland

Alain Amstutz, Dr.

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland

Christof Schönenberger, Dr.

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland

Locations

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Cantonal Hospital St. Gallen

Sankt Gallen, Canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland

Site Status RECRUITING

University Hospital Lausanne

Lausanne, Canton of Vaud, Switzerland

Site Status RECRUITING

Cantonal Hospital Aarau

Aarau, , Switzerland

Site Status RECRUITING

University Hospital Basel

Basel, , Switzerland

Site Status RECRUITING

Inselspital Bern

Bern, , Switzerland

Site Status RECRUITING

University Hospital Geneva

Geneva, , Switzerland

Site Status RECRUITING

University Hospital Zurich

Zurich, , Switzerland

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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Switzerland

Central Contacts

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Matthias Briel, Prof.

Role: CONTACT

+ 4161 265 3815

Christof Schönenberger, Dr.

Role: CONTACT

Facility Contacts

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Patrick Schmid, Dr.

Role: primary

Tamara Dörr, Dr.

Role: backup

Matthias Cavassini, Prof.

Role: primary

+41 21 314 1022

Christoph Fux, MD

Role: primary

+41 62 838 68 56

Matthias Briel, Prof.

Role: primary

+ 4161 265 3815

Gilles Wandeler, Prof.

Role: primary

Alexandra Calmy, Prof.

Role: primary

Johannes Nemeth, Dr.

Role: primary

+41 44 255 33 22

Provided Documents

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Document Type: Study Protocol

View Document

Other Identifiers

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2024-02417; ub25Briel

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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