Clinical Trial Protocol: Can GLP-1 Drugs Help People with Diabetes Quit Smoking? | Research

The takeaway

A randomized trial will test whether GLP-1 receptor agonists reduce cigarette consumption in type 2 diabetes patients, using brain imaging to explore reward pathway mechanisms.

GLP-1 + smoking cessation RCT
First randomized trial protocol testing GLP-1 effects on nicotine dependence with fMRI

What the researchers found

This protocol establishes a rigorous framework to test whether GLP-1RAs reduce smoking in T2DM patients, with fMRI to explore neural reward pathway mechanisms.

Why it matters

Smoking doubles cardiovascular risk in diabetes. If GLP-1 drugs — already prescribed for blood sugar — also reduce smoking, they could provide dual protection for millions of diabetic smokers.

How the study worked

Single-center, parallel-group randomized controlled trial protocol with functional MRI neuroimaging component.

What this study cannot tell us

Protocol paper only — no results yet; single-center design; T2DM patients may not represent all smokers.

How to read the evidence

Study protocol — no results yet. Describes methodology for a rigorous future trial.

When this study was published

Published in 2026, reflecting growing interest in GLP-1 drug effects on addictive behaviors.

The bigger picture

Growing evidence that GLP-1 drugs reduce addictive behaviors (alcohol, food, possibly drugs) is expanding their potential impact far beyond diabetes and obesity into addiction medicine.

Questions still open

Could GLP-1 drugs become a first-line smoking cessation aid for diabetic patients?
Do the reward pathway effects of GLP-1 drugs extend to other addictions beyond smoking and alcohol?

Common questions

How could a diabetes drug help people quit smoking?

GLP-1 drugs affect the brain's reward system — the same circuits that drive nicotine cravings. By dampening reward-seeking behavior, these drugs may reduce the urge to smoke, similar to how they reduce overeating.

Will this study prove GLP-1 drugs help with smoking?

This is the study protocol — the trial needs to be completed first. But it will provide the first randomized evidence on whether GLP-1 drugs affect smoking in diabetes patients.

Read the original research

Effect of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists on cigarette smoking consumption in type 2 diabetes patients: study protocol of a randomized, parallel -controlled clinical trial.

Frontiers in clinical diabetes and healthcare, 7, 1665837

View on PubMed ↗Publisher’s paper ↗

Citation

Chen, Da; Li, Ziyi; Zhou, Chenxia; Li, Ruoxuan; Ji, Xinnan; Feng, Bo; Song, Jun. (2026). Effect of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists on cigarette smoking consumption in type 2 diabetes patients: study protocol of a randomized, parallel -controlled clinical trial.. Frontiers in clinical diabetes and healthcare, 7, 1665837. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcdhc.2026.1665837