Low-cost, plant-based drug may help you quit smoking more effectively than nicotine replacement therapy, study shows

CTV National News: New harsher cigarette labels Adrian Ghobrial reports on every cigarette in Canada now having a warning label as a way to curb smoking.

A new study shows a low-cost plant-based drug may be more effective than nicotine replacement therapy for people trying to quit smoking.

The study, published in the journal Addiction, shows cytisine – a drug that has been used predominately in eastern Europe for decades – "increases the chances of successful smoking cessation by more than two-fold compared with placebo" and has "no evidence of serious safety concerns."

Researchers compiled data from eight randomized controlled trials analyzing nearly 6,000 smokers and compared the effects of cytisine with placebo.

"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 [low- and middle-income] countries where cost-effective smoking cessation drugs are urgently needed," Omar De Santi, lead author of the study, said.

The study looked at two additional trials comparing cytisine with nicotine replacement therapy and found the results modestly favoured cytisine. Researchers said this limited data suggests cytisine may be more effective than nicotine replacement therapy.

Scientists also looked at three trials comparing cytisine with another stop-smoking drug, varenicline, and found no clear evidence that either drug is more effective than the other.

The study also found using cytisine in combination with behavioural therapy or some form of psychological therapy increased the likelihood of smoking cessation—the greater the intensity of the therapy, the greater the efficacy of cytisine.

There are side effects to taking cytisine, researchers said, the most commonly reported in the study were gastrointestinal symptoms that were "mild and transient."

The study also found limited evidence to suggest cytisine is safe for people with HIV, tuberculosis or alcohol dependency to use, however researchers were unable to tell how well the drug worked on these people, and more research needs to be done.

Cytisine is available in Canada over the counter as Cravv, and elsewhere in eastern and central Europe as Tabex and Desmoxan.

Researchers said because of its low cost, cytisine can be used to increase access to nicotine addiction treatment resources in low- and middle-income countries.

"Worldwide, smoking is considered the main cause of preventable death. Cytisine has the potential to be one of the big answers to that problem," De Santi said.