New anti-smoking drug that doubles chances of quitting available on NHS in days

16 January 2024 , 16:45

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For those looking to quit, new cytisine pills make the process less hellish by dampening nicotine cravings (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A new drug that can double your chance of kicking the habit is to be available to the more than six million Brits in days.

For those looking to quit, new cytisine pills make the process less hellish by dampening nicotine cravings and the new medicine could be available on the NHS by the end of the month. While giving up tobacco remains one of the most common New Year’s resolutions, it is much easier said than done - the highly-addictive nature of nicotine means that about 75% of smokers who quit for at least 4 weeks have started smoking again within 12 months, according to government figures.

Instead many of the 6.4 million smokers in the UK have turned to nicotine replacements like vapes, gum and patches that help the cravings but without the health impacts of tobacco. But the medicine called cytisine, which is a natural ingredient of laburnum seeds, can help smokers break their addiction instead of replacing it.

The pills will be available in the UK for the first time on January 22, after the medicine just gained regulatory approval in Britain. The medicine, which has been used in eastern Europe for decades, is still unavailable in most countries including the US. And the Department of Health will push for local councils to prescribe the pills from the spring with the aid of a £70 million funding boost. “This is the first new stop smoking medicine to be launched in the UK for over 10 years,” a source told The Sun.

Cytisine pills are to be available on the NHS (Getty Images)

Tory MP Bob Blackman, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health, said: “This new medication will increase smokers’ chances of successfully quitting. Most smokers want to quit but it’s highly addictive and success rates without support are low. Additional funding for the Stop Smoking Services will ensure 360,000 smokers get the help they need to quit this year.”

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Researchers in Argentina compared the effects of cytisine with a placebo by compiling data from eight randomised controlled studies that included close to 6,000 smokers. The study, published in the journal Addiction found cytisine more than twice as effective as a placebo, while several trials review suggested the drug was similar to existing stop-smoking drug varenicline (Champix) and possibly more effective than nicotine replacement therapy.

The pills are due to be released in the UK on a prescription-only basis and would cost, £115 for a 25-day course of 100 pills but patients would only pay the current prescription charge of £9.65.

Tim Hanlon