2032-25: Safer Than You Think: Making Varenicline a First-Line Choice for Smoking Cessation

This presentation explores the safety and efficacy of varenicline, our most effective option for smoking cessation, while addressing misconceptions and outdated concerns about psychiatric risks. Participants will learn how to educate patients on varenicline’s benefits, empowering prescribers and non-prescribers alike to support informed treatment decisions and improve patient outcomes.

Presenter:  Jeremy Mills, DNP, APRN, PMHNP-BC

Disclosures:  The APNA planners and faculty have no relevant financial relationships to disclose. Off-label uses will be discussed during this presentation.

Session Length:  45 minutes

Target Audience:  RN, APRN

Learning Outcome:
Upon completion of this presentation, the participant will be able to:

• Identify three strategies for promoting evidence-based pharmacologic treatment for smoking cessation, addressing common misconceptions and supporting informed patient decision-making.

Key Takeaway(s): 

• Recent evidence indicates that varenicline is the most effective pharmacological treatment for smoking cessation compared with other available options.
• Varenicline has been shown to be safer than commonly thought, and the majority of recently published data supports its use.

Keywords:  Smoking Cessation, Tobacco Use Disorder, Nicotine

Nursing Continuing Professional Development:
0.75 pharmacology contact hours.  * In order to receive contact hours, you must: Listen to the entire presentation, complete the reflection activity, evaluation, and honor statement before the expiration date. Once all steps are successfully completed, a certificate will be generated online and available for you to print immediately. Contact hours cannot be awarded unless all required components are completed. 

The American Psychiatric Nurses Association is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

Release Date:  January 15, 2026
Access to this course will end:  December 1, 2027

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