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Inexpensive drug helps to quit smoking

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An inexpensive stop-smoking drug popular in Eastern Europe was significantly more effective than placebo in a randomized trial, but not by very much, researchers said.

In a 740-person trial conducted in Poland, 8.4% of those assigned to cytisine (Tabex), a partial agonist at nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, remained abstinent through the one-year follow-up period compared with 2.4% of the placebo group (*P*=0.001), reported Robert West, PhD, of University College London in England, and colleagues.

It did not help much to define abstinence more loosely as not having smoked during the final week of follow-up, according to their report in the Sept. 29 issue of the *New England Journal of Medicine*. By that measure, success was achieved by 13.2% with cytisine versus 7.3% with placebo (*P*=0.01).

In contrast, the approved smoking cessation drug varenicline (Chantix) had 12-month abstinence rates above 20% in randomized trials, compared with 8% to 10% with placebo.

Ref and read more: http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/Smoking/28785

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