Brits get serious about smokers

Jun 3 2007

Authorities in the UK have given approval for an anti-smoking pill to be available on the National Health Service (NHS).

The anti-smoking drug Champix costs 164 pounds for a 12-week course of treatment, and it has been found to be the most effective treatment yet in helping smokers to quit the habit.

The approval comes as a smoking ban came into effect in England.

Tests have shown the anti-smoking agent varenicline to be the most effective treatment yet to help smokers quit.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), says that Champix (varenicline), offers a cheaper and more effective option than other existing treatments.

It is estimated there are around 12 million smokers in the UK and smoking is the biggest preventable cause of death and illness in there; more than 120,000 people each year in the UK die from smoking-related causes.

Cigarettes contain more than 4,000 chemicals many of which cause cancer and smoking is a major contributor to many serious diseases, including heart disease and lung cancer.

Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) is the most common treatment which gets nicotine into the body without the tar, carbon monoxide and other poisonous chemicals you get from cigarette smoke.

Tobacco contains poisons such as nicotine, ammonia, acetone, carbon monoxide, cyanide and arsenic but smokers who quit before the age of 45 have a life expectancy close to that of people who have never smoked.

NRT is available as patches, chewing gum, lozenges and tablets, which are placed under the tongue, as well as an inhaler or nasal spray.

According to research every year people continue smoking after the age of 35-40 reduces their life expectancy by three months.

Although the majority of people express a desire to quit only 2-3% succeed.

Smokers experience a range of unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when trying to quit especially in the short term, and these include depressed mood, difficulty in sleeping, irritability and anger, anxiety, restlessness, decreased heart rate, dizziness and increased appetite.

The approval for Champix has attracted criticism from some quarters who argue that NICE has recently turned down other treatments for cancer and Alzheimer's, but others say the cost of Champix will be recovered from the NHS's 1.5 billion pound annual bill for treating diseases caused by smoking.

NICE says smokers who use the drug have triple the chance of successfully quitting compared with trying to quit without medication.

Champix is taken twice a day and costs £54.60 per pack, and NICE says it should be provided in conjunction with counselling and support.

The drug works by partially stimulating the nicotine receptors in the brain, which helps reduce nicotine withdrawal symptoms. It also blocks some of the nicotine from attaching to these receptors, making smoking less satisfying and represses a person's desire to smoke.