Smokers ‘twice as likely to quit’ with cytisine pills available in UK this month

The pills, used in eastern Europe since the Sixties will be available in the UK by the end of January

Analysis of trials with over 6,000 patients found the drug to be more than twice as effective as a placebo (PA)

Thousands of Britain’s 5.3 million smokers will try to quit smoking after vowing to kick the habit in their new year’s resolutions.

While research has found it’s one of the hardest resolutions to keep, a new study points to a drug that could help change that – and it’s available in the UK this month.

Cytisine, a low-cost generic stop-smoking aid which eases withdrawal symptoms, has been used in central and Eastern Europe since the 1960s.

A study by researchers in Argentina found that the plant-based compound was more than twice as effective as a placebo and may be more effective than nicotine replacement therapy.

It comes as the NHS Smokefree campaign encourages 5.3 million smokers in England to make an attempt to quit this January to improve health and reduce the likelihood of young people starting.

The findings published in the Addiction journal pooled the results of eight randomised controlled trials comparing cytisine with placebo, with nearly 6,000 patients.

Of the 5,922 patients, 2,996 took cytisine.

While some may be concerned about the effects of the drug, researchers concluded that cytisine has a “benign safety profile” and there is “no evidence of serious safety concerns”.

The most frequently reported non-serious adverse events across the clinical trials were gastrointestinal symptoms and sleep disorders.

The NHS Smokefree campaign encourages 5.3 million smokers in England to quit this January (EPA)

The drug was approved for use in 2019 and will be available in the UK this month as a prescription-only medication, according to the Pharmaceutical Journal. One pack of 100 tablets to be taken over 25 days will cost £115 to the NHS and patients will be expected to pay the usual prescription charges.

Consilient Health told The Independent that the study is an independent meta-analysis which includes a range of studies with varying doses of Cytisine.

A spokesperson said: “Some of these doses differ from the UK licenced Cytisine set to be available by prescription in the UK. This distinction is essential to prevent any potential misinterpretation regarding Cytisine in a UK setting.”

Because cytisine is a low-cost drug, researchers say it could form part of a plan to increase accessibility to drug therapy for smokers, which tends to be limited in low- and middle-income (Lami) countries.

Lead author Dr Omar De Santi, from Centrol Nacional de Intoxicaciones (CNI), said: “Our study adds to the evidence that cytisine is an effective and inexpensive stop-smoking aid.

“It could be very useful in reducing smoking in Lami countries where cost-effective smoking cessation drugs are urgently needed.

“Worldwide, smoking is considered the main cause of preventable death. Cytisine has the potential to be one of the big answers to that problem.”

The study also looked at two randomised controlled trials comparing cytisine with nicotine replacement therapy, with modest results in favour of cytisine, and three trials comparing cytisine with varenicline, without a clear benefit for cytisine.