Alexa Lardieri US Health Deputy Editor Dailymail.Com
00:26 02 January 2024, 00:26 02 January 2024 Updated
- Cytisine is widely used as a smoking cessation aid in Europe and Canada
- A natural organic compound found in plants
- Read more: Ex-smokers should be regularly tested for lung cancer
Plant-based may be a better option for more than just a diet. Going the natural route may also help you eventually quit smoking for good.
Cytisine is a naturally occurring organic compound found in several different plant species.
Studies have shown that it can help encourage people to quit smoking, and it is already sold as a smoking cessation aid in some countries.
People trying to kick bad habits take Cytisine tablets, which are branded as different products in several countries, multiple times a day for up to two months.
And research shows that asking people to put out their cigarettes can be more than twice as effective as traditional smoking cessation methods.
The compound was first synthesized in Bulgaria in 1964 as the smoking cessation aid Tabex. Over the next few years, it spread to neighboring countries in Europe and Asia, where it is still sold today.
In 2017, Polish pharmaceutical company Afropharm sold cytisine as desmoxane, available only by prescription, and Canada approved an over-the-counter version, Cravv.
But researchers say the low-cost cytisine could be a game-changer in getting people to quit smoking, even though the substance is not widely used in the United States and other countries where smoking poses a significant public health burden. Not approved yet.
A meta-analysis published in October 2023 in the journal Addiction found that cytisine more than doubled the likelihood of successful smoking cessation compared to a placebo.
It has been proven to be safe and without serious side effects.
Although limited, additional evidence suggests that they may even be more effective than traditional nicotine replacement smoking cessation aids.
Lead author Dr Omar de Santi said: “Our study further supports the evidence that cytisine is an effective and inexpensive smoking cessation aid.” Could be very helpful in reducing smoking [low- and middle-income] Countries where cost-effective smoking cessation drugs are urgently needed.
“Globally, smoking is considered the leading cause of preventable death. Cytisine has the potential to be one of the great answers to that problem.”
The meta-analysis looked at eight studies comparing cytisine and placebo in 6,000 people. Overall results showed superior efficacy of this substance over currently approved methods.
The analysis also examined two studies comparing cytisine and nicotine replacement. There were “modest” results in favor of this compound.
Currently approved smoking cessation aids in the United States include nicotine replacement skin patches, chewing gum, and lozenges, all of which are available over the counter.
Prescription treatments include nicotine sprays and nicotine inhalers.
There are also two approved smoking cessation aids that do not contain nicotine and are available only by prescription. One is bupropion hydrochloride, which helps people quit smoking by reducing withdrawal symptoms, and the other is varenicline tartrate, which helps people quit smoking by blocking the effects of nicotine on the brain.
A major hurdle to approving cytisine in the United States is financial.
In order for new medical products and drugs to be approved and sold in the United States, pharmaceutical companies must support them.
However, since cytisine occurs in nature, there is no way for pharmaceutical companies to patent this compound.
This reduces the financial incentive for manufacturers to support their drugs through the extremely expensive and time-consuming U.S. approval process.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported:In 2021, 11.5 percent of American adults, or 28.3 million people, smoked.
Although it remains a concern among health experts, it is less common than it was about 20 years ago.
In 2005, approximately 20% of U.S. adults smoked.
Men are slightly more likely to smoke than women, with 13 percent of men and 10 percent of women reporting ever having smoked.
The CDC estimates that smoking costs the United States approximately $600 billion annually, including $240 billion in health care spending and $372 billion in lost productivity.
Smoking remains the leading cause of lung cancer, and lung cancer is the second most common cancer.
It is also the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, accounting for one in five cancer deaths.
The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2023 there will be 238,000 new cases of lung cancer and 127,000 deaths from lung cancer.
Lung cancer incidence has been on the decline since the 1980s as awareness of the health risks of cigarettes grew.
In 1992, there were about 65 new cases of lung cancer per 100,000 people, but by 2019 this had fallen to about 42.
In some parts of the United States, such as New York City, smoking has now virtually disappeared.
Further research shows that smoking also has a negative effect on the heart.
A 2022 study of 4,000 people found that smoking thickens and weakens the heart, making it work harder to pump blood throughout the body.
And the more people smoke, the worse their heart function becomes.