Reports

Plant-based alternative to nicotine patches: Study finds

A researchers’ team in Argentina has scientifically proven that Cytisine, a plant-based compound, can boosts the probability of successfully quitting smoking by more than two-fold when compared to a placebo.

• By Pooja Chaturvedi Sah
• New Delhi
• Jan 02, 2024

Reports

If your new year resolution for 2024 is to quit smoking, then there is some good news for you. Scientists have found a plant-based compound that may aid in smoking cessation. The best part is that this plant-based drug is more effective than nicotine replacement therapy. 

Cytisine, a plant-based compound, ceases smoking withdrawal symptoms. This low-cost, generic stop-smoking aid has been used in eastern Europe since the 1960s.

Now, a researchers’ team in Argentina has scientifically proven that the drug can boosts the probability of successfully quitting smoking by more than two-fold when compared to a placebo.

The study, published in the journal Addiction, looked at 12 different research studies. The scientists pooled the results of eight trials comparing cytisine with placebo, in 5922 patients. Of these patients, 2996 took cytisine.

The combined results showed those patients who took cytisine were 2.25 times more likely to quit smoking compared to those who took placebo. They also found that the more support people got to change their behavior (like counseling), the better cytisine worked.

The research also looked at two randomised controlled trials comparing cytisine with nicotine replacement therapy, with modest results in favor of cytisine, and three trials comparing cytisine with varenicline, without a clear benefit for cytisine.

"World-wide, smoking is considered the main cause of preventable death. Cytisine has the potential to be one of the big answers to that problem," said the lead author of the study Dr Omar De Santi from Centro Nacional de Intoxicaciones (CNI), Buenos Aires, Argentina. 

Cytisine being a low-cost drug, could aid accessibility to drug therapy for smokers, which tends to be limited in low- and middle-income (LAMI) countries.

However, there is one significant hurdle: cytisine is not licensed or marketed in most countries outside of central and eastern Europe.  

This makes it unavailable in most parts of the world, including many LAMI countries where it could substantially impact and improve the overall global health. 

“Our study adds to the evidence that cytisine is an effective and inexpensive stop-smoking aid. It could be very useful in reducing smoking in LAMI countries where cost-effective smoking cessation drugs are urgently needed”, said the lead author of the study Dr Omar De Santi from Centro Nacional de Intoxicaciones (CNI), Buenos Aires, Argentina. 

Cytisine was first synthesised in Bulgaria in 1964 as Tabex and later spread to other countries in eastern Europe and Asia, where it is still marketed.

In 2017, the Polish pharmaceutical company Aflofarm began selling it as Desmoxan, a prescription-only medicine, and Canada approved it as an over-the-counter natural health product, Cravv.

In India, there are around 12 crore smokers based on the Global Adult Tobacco Survey India conducted during 2016-17. The study highlights the potential global health impact of cytisine and calls for increased efforts to make it accessible on a broader scale.