Bupropion for the Prevention of Postpartum Smoking Relapse

This two-arm, double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial will enroll pregnant women who quit smoking after learning they were pregnant and are motivated to stay abstinent postpartum. Participants will be randomized to receive extended-release bupropion (active 300mg or placebo once daily beginning 4 to 10 days postpartum to 12 weeks post-randomization). All participants will complete the same data collection procedures (e.g., biological sample collection for hormone and cotinine analysis and completion of validated questionnaires) at baseline (gestational week 36), weekly from 4 to 10 days postpartum through 12 weeks post-randomization and at weeks 12, 24, 36 and 52 post-randomization.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Postpartum Smoking Relapse
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Bupropion Extended Release Oral Tablet; Drug: Placebo oral tablet

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 200
• Phase: Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Katherine Harrison, MPH; Phone Number: 612-624-5377; Email: harr0644@umn.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Minnesota
    • Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, 55455
      • Recruiting
      • University of Minnesota
      • Contact: Sharon Allen, MD

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 40 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Ability to provide informed consent
• Age 18 to 45 years old
• Stable health
• 7-day point prevalence abstinence demonstrated at randomization
• Lifetime history of at least 100 cigarettes smoked
• Quit smoking during the current pregnancy
• Self-report of intention to remain abstinent after delivery ≥ 7 on a 10 point Likert-type scale
• Uncomplicated delivery
• Denies plans to become pregnant again during the trial.
• Full-term delivery ≥ 37 weeks gestation
• Home within 10 days of delivery

Exclusion Criteria:

• Current use of other forms of tobacco or nicotine (e-cigs, chew, snuff, etc.)
• Current use of cessation aids (e.g., varenicline, NRT)
• Current use of illicit drugs or alcohol dependence
• Current use of antidepressant medication
• Bipolar disorder, eating disorder, or psychotic disorder based on the Structured Clinical Interview
• Medications & conditions that may increase the risk of taking bupropion (e.g., current or history of pulmonary embolus, stroke, heart disease, kidney disease, glaucoma, diabetes, seizure disorder, traumatic head injury, use of medications metabolized by CYP2D6)
• Family history of seizures or seizure disorder
• Maternal use of medications that lower seizure threshold
• Newborn with an elevated risk of seizure

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Triple

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Bupropion; Participants randomized to extended-release bupropion. Once-daily	Drug: Bupropion Extended Release Oral Tablet; 12 weeks postpartum of blinded study medication
Placebo Comparator: Placebo; Participants randomized to placebo. Once-daily	Drug: Placebo oral tablet; 12 weeks postpartum of blinded placebo

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Point prevalence smoking abstinence	7-day point prevalence abstinence	24 weeks post randomization

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Minnesota
• Collaborators: National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Sharon Allen, MD, University of Minnesota

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Allen S, Thomas J, Harrison K, Emery RL, Petersen A, Winickoff JP, Japuntich S. Bupropion for postpartum smoking relapse: A remote protocol for a two-arm, double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial. Contemp Clin Trials. 2021 Jun;105:106352. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2021.106352. Epub 2021 Mar 9.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 1, 2020
• Primary Completion (Estimated): July 31, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): July 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 19, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 19, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): September 23, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): January 7, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 5, 2026
• Last Verified: January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Disease Attributes; Recurrence; Physiological Effects of Drugs; Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action; Enzyme Inhibitors; Neurotransmitter Agents; Membrane Transport Modulators; Psychotropic Drugs; Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme Inhibitors; Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors; Neurotransmitter Uptake Inhibitors; Dopamine Agents; Antidepressive Agents; Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation; Cytochrome P-450 CYP2D6 Inhibitors; Bupropion
• Other Study ID Numbers: FMCH-2019-28219; R01DA047287 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED
• IPD Plan Description: Only de-identified data collected in this trial may be available to other researchers. Requests for data will be considered on an individual basis by the study team.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: Yes
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No