Varenicline: A Cure for Smoking -Or a Smokescreen?

One of the holy grails of the pharmaceutical industry is to design a drug that would cure or, otherwise significantly reduce nicotine cravings i.e. cure smoking. There are 48 million smokers in the U.S. and 45 million of them would, surely, give anything to quit. So, to conquer that market would mean immeasurable wealth to the victor. With this in mind, there is a potential blockbuster drug currently making its way through the regulatory hurdles that shows promise: Varenicline.



There are as many treatments for smoking as there are brands of cigarettes. These include patches, gums, lozenges, hypnosis, acupuncture and even an anti-depressant, Zyban. Zyban wasn't originally developed as a smoking cessation drug but as a treatment for depression. A side effect was observed- people on this drug smoked less. It has been moderately successful.



Most over-the-counter treatments involve the slow weaning of the patient from nicotine, while this new drug, Varenicline, attempts to block the receptors in the brain that trigger the cravings in the first place. A novel solution, it seems, to a perplexing problem.



As a smoker and having tried everything, I am currently most satisfied with my Commit lozenges. Ultimately though, these lozenges merely replace smoking as my preferred method of ingesting nicotine - something my lungs, but not my pocketbook are quite appreciative of. Now, I would have no problem continuing with these lozenges, but they are quite expensive and do nothing to end my addiction. I was hoping that this new drug, Varenicline, would allow me to kick the habit for good.



Well, the study results are in and here they are:



22% -- smoking abstinence rate after 1 year of patients given Varenicline



16% -- smoking abstinence rate after 1 year of patients given Zyban



8% --- smoking abstinence rate after 1 year of patients given a placebo



Hardly earth shattering numbers was my initial response. There barely seems a difference between Zyban and Varenicline - 1 out of 6 quitting for Zyban vs. 1 out of 5 for Varenicline. It's too early to draw any conclusions, but it does initially appear, that we might have to wait awhile longer for the elusive smoking cure to be as simple as swallowing a pill.



Meanwhile, it's off to the drugstore I go, for some more Commit.



Hopefully, it's on sale.

Varenicline: A Miracle for Smokers or Simply another False Hope?

Smokers have many incentives to quit smoking. The health risk of smoking is bigger today then at any other point in history. It seems that with each passing year more is known about cigarettes and the health problems that stem from them. The problem is not a lack of motivation or incentive on the smoker's part, but it is quite simply a hard addiction. There have been many stop-smoking aids that have been released in the last 15 years. Some of these include the Nicorette gum and the famous stop-smoking Patch. Recently however, there has been a new stop-smoking aid that has entered the market. Varenicline, sold under the name Chantix, has many people hopeful for a stop-smoking method that actually works.



Chantix was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It is the first stop-smoking aid to be approved by the FDA in almost 10 years. This has many people excited about the possibility that it may actually work. Although there have been some very positive test results shown with Chantix, it is still currently in the testing phase, and not available to the mass market. More will be known on the effects of Chantix once it is released.



In a nutshell, Chantix works by attaching itself to nicotine receptors in the brain, which is supposed to help prevent cravings. It does not actually contain any nicotine, instead containing Cytisine, which is commonly referred to as "False Tobacco". This differs from most stop-smoking aids which contain certain amounts of nicotine.



It is difficult to tell at this point whether or not Chantix will become the be-all and end-all of the stop-smoking aid world. Until more is known and more studies have been done, people should use caution before hailing Chantix as a miracle drug.