It’s two days after New Year’s, and that means a lot of people will be fighting the urge to go and replace the pack of ciggies that has been absent from their purse or pocket for a commendable 24 hours.
In the UK, a newly-approved drug made from the seeds of a common European tree genus called Laburnum, was recently found in a study to give smokers double the chance of keeping that spot in their purse or pocket empty for good.
Known as cytisine, the drug recently gained regulatory approval and is currently available in Britain. Used in other parts of Eastern Europe for years, cytisine was found to be twice as good as a placebo, and also better than nicotine replacement therapy like patches and gum, or another drug for breaking nicotine dependence called Champix.
“Our study adds to the evidence that cytisine is an effective and inexpensive stop-smoking aid,” said Omar de Santi, a toxicologist at the Posadas National Hospital in Argentina, who led the review. “Worldwide, smoking is considered the main cause of preventable death. Cytisine has the potential to be one of the big answers to that problem.”
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A major study conducted recently by Oxford University found that just 6 out of 100 smokers can break the addiction without any form of aid.
Cytisine is due to be available in late January at £115 for a 25-day supply. The price may exclude it from some local health insurance agencies. It’s not available in the US, but information on its effects from a similar population like the UK may mean it could be granted approval soon.
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A professor and a local health services organizer both told the Guardian that it’s a good thing cytisine is going to be available across the UK, and that the cost of the drug shouldn’t be prohibitive based on the costs of treating people for nicotine addiction multiple times with different products.
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