Researchers at the University of California at San Francisco set out to determine whether adding group therapy to anti-smoking drugs would enhance the effect of the drugs. Previous research had found that antidepressant drugs are beneficial in helping smokers quit.

The researchers examined different combinations of anti-smoking treatments and their impact on 220 smokers. Smokers were divided into groups, with three groups given either bupropion (Zyban), nortriptyline or a placebo, and three other groups given the drugs or a placebo with five group-therapy sessions.

The researchers found that 29 percent of the smokers given bupropion, 23 percent given nortriptyline, and 13 percent given a placebo quit smoking for at least one year. The smoking rates for participants who also received group therapy were 29 percent for bupropion, 23 percent for nortriptyline, and 21 percent for the placebo.

"Both drugs, and psychological intervention, have limited efficacy in producing sustained abstinence from smoking," said Dr. Sharon M. Hall, who led the study. "The data also suggest that combined psychological intervention and antidepressant drug treatment may not be more effective than antidepressant drug treatment alone."

The study's findings are published in the October 2002 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.

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