Can GLP-1 Receptor Agonists Help People Quit Smoking — and Who Might Benefit Most?
Luba Yammine, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Louis A. Faillace, MD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston. Her research program focuses on developing and testing novel pharmacologic approaches for addiction treatment, with a particular emphasis on repurposing GLP-1-based therapies for tobacco use disorder and post-smoking-cessation weight management, and other substance use disorders.
Dr. Yammine led the first human trial of extended-release exenatide for smoking cessation and continues to investigate GLP-1–based approaches to addiction treatment. She currently serves as Principal Investigator or multiple Principal Investigator on several NIH-funded clinical trials, including two NIDA R01 studies investigating exenatide and semaglutide for tobacco and cocaine use disorders, as well as an investigator-sponsored clinical trial of semaglutide focused on weight management following smoking cessation, funded by Novo Nordisk. Her research has been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals and covered in national media, and she has presented her work at meetings and events organized by the National Institutes of Health and professional societies.
Medications known as GLP-1 receptor agonists — widely used for diabetes and weight management — are now being studied as potential tools for smoking cessation. This webinar will explain how these medications may work on the brain's reward and craving pathways and review the existing body of evidence — from early electronic health record signals to clinical trials — on what is and isn't yet known about whether they help people quit. Findings to date have been mixed, with effects on some cessation outcomes. We will also explore who may respond differently, what these mixed results tell us, and whether these medications could play a role in treating other addictions. The session will close with a look at what still needs to happen before this approach can be used in practice.
Upon completion of this webinar, participants will be able to:
- Describe how GLP-1 receptor agonists may affect the brain's reward and craving pathways, and why researchers began studying them for smoking cessation.
- Summarize the evidence linking GLP-1 receptor agonists to reduced tobacco use.
- Explain why results have been mixed across studies and what factors may influence cessation outcomes.
- Identify the key questions, limitations, and next steps that need to be addressed before GLP-1-based therapies can be considered a tool for treating tobacco addiction.
Participants who join the live session on November 19, 2026, can earn one hour of free credit (limited availability). You will receive instructions on how to claim credit via the post-webinar email.
Accreditation Statements
In support of improving patient care, the University of California, San Francisco is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
ACCME Credit: UCSF Office of CME designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditTM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the webinar activity.
- Advance Practice Registered Nurses and Registered Nurses: For the purpose of recertification, the American Nurses Credentialing Center accepts AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM issued by organizations accredited by the ACCME.
- Physician Assistants: The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) states that the AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM are acceptable for continuing medical education requirements for recertification.
- California Pharmacists: The California Board of Pharmacy accepts as continuing professional education those courses that meet the standard of relevance to pharmacy practice and have been approved for AMA PRA category 1 CreditTM. If you are a pharmacist in another state, you should check with your state board for approval of this credit.
- California Psychologists: The California Board of Psychology recognizes and accepts for continuing education credit courses that are provided by entities approved by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME). AMA PRA Category 1 CreditTM is acceptable to meeting the CE requirements for the California Board of Psychology.
Interprofessional Continuing Education Credit (IPCE): UCSF Office of CME designates this Live Activity for a maximum of 1.0 Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) Credit(s).
APA - Psychologists: UCSF Office of CME designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.0 APA credit.
ASWB: Social Workers completing this course receive 1.0 general continuing education credit.
Addiction Professionals: The California Department of Healthcare Services (DCHS) recognizes up to 10 hours of continuing education from a non-accredited provider. If you are a provider outside of California, please check with your state board for your credit policy.
Disclosures
This UCSF CME activity was planned and developed to uphold academic standards to ensure balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor; adhere to requirements to protect health information under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA); and include a mechanism to inform learners when unapproved or unlabeled uses of therapeutic products or agents are discussed or referenced.
All speakers, planning committee members and reviewers, listed below, have disclosed they have no relevant financial relationships to disclose with ineligible companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.
Catherine Bonniot, Christine Cheng, Brian Clark, Stephanie Koenig, MPH, Jennifer Matekuare, Ma Krisanta Pamatmat, MPH, CHES, Jason Satterfield, PhD, Maya Vijayaraghavan, MD, MAS.
SCLC issues free certificates of attendance for those who need only contact hours and do not need CME/CEUs.