by A new study published in ‘Addiction’ has found that cytisine, a generic, low-cost smoking cessation active ingredient that has been used in Eastern Europe since the 1960s, more than doubles the chances of quitting. habit successfully compared to placebo and may be more effective than replacement therapy nicotine (gum, pills, patches, etc.). It has a benign safety profile, with no evidence of serious side effects.
The only problem the study points out is that Ciudadina is not authorized or marketed in most countries outside of Central and Eastern Europe, so it is not available in most of the world, including many low- and middle-income countries. . where it could make a big difference to global health.
Cytisine is a compound of plant origin that relieves withdrawal symptoms when you quit tobacco. It was first synthesized in Bulgaria in 1964 as Tabex® and subsequently spread to other countries in Eastern Europe and Asia, where it is still marketed. In 2017, Polish pharmaceutical company Aflofarm began selling it as Desmoxan®, a prescription-only drug, and Canada approved it as an over-the-counter natural health product, Cravv®.
In Spain, there are currently two smoking cessation drugs financed by the Health Ministry with this active ingredient.
The study authors believe that since cytisine is a low-cost drug, it could be part of a plan to increase accessibility to drug therapy for smokers, which tends to be limited in low- and middle-income countries.
«Our study adds to the evidence that cytisine is an effective and economical aid to quit smoking. It could be very useful in reducing smoking in low- and middle-income countries where leasable smoking cessation medications are urgently needed. Worldwide, smoking is considered the leading cause of preventable death. Cytisine has the potential to be one of the great answers to this problem,” says lead author Dr. Omar De Santi.
This study pooled the results of eight randomized controlled trials comparing cytisine with a placebo, involving almost 6,000 patients. The combined results showed that cytisine more than doubled the chances of successfully quitting smoking compared to placebo.
The study also looked at two randomized controlled trials that compared cytisine with nicotine replacement therapy, with modest results in favor of cytisine, and three trials that compared cytisine with varenicline, with no clear benefit for cytisine.
