Could brenipatide help prevent a return to smoking?

Lilly is testing precisely that possibility in RENEW-Smk-1. The study compares brenipatide with placebo in adults who have recently stopped smoking cigarettes, asking whether treatment reduces their risk of returning to smoking. That starting point matters: a medicine that helps a recent quitter remain abstinent is not automatically proven to help someone who is still smoking quit in the first place. The relevant evidence is sustained behavior over follow-up, not only a report of reduced desire for a cigarette.[1]

A registered trial tells us the question, not the answer. The public listing does not provide a completed efficacy comparison showing how many people avoided relapse because of brenipatide. Future results should distinguish the definition of abstinence, permitted lapses, follow-up duration and participants who stopped treatment. We would also need to know what other quitting support participants received. The alcohol and smoking programs can inform broader research into substance use, but positive results for one substance would not automatically establish benefit for nicotine, vaping or every other addiction.[1][2]