14 DAY TRIAL // According to the data presented at the meeting of the American Heart Association, Pfizer's cessation medicine varenicline tartrate was shown to be more effective than the only marketed oral prescription anti-smoking medicine.
Varenicline works in a completely different way than the nicotine patches, gums and other drugs currently available for smoking cessation. It attaches to the same receptors in the brain that nicotine binds to, the mechanism which triggers addiction.
In two double-blind placebo-controlled studies involving about 2,000 smokers, patients received either varenicline (1 mg twice daily), bupropion, marketed as Zyban (150 mg twice daily), or placebo for 12 weeks. Patients were followed for an additional 40 weeks without treatment.
In both studies, 44 percent of varenicline-treated patients quit by the end of the 12-week treatment period, significantly more than the 30 percent of Zyban patients who quit.
Among patients who received placebo, 18 percent had quit by the end of the 12-week treatment period. The odds of quitting smoking for patients taking varenicline were approximately two times higher than those on bupropion, and four times higher than those on placebo.
After one year, patients who received varenicline were significantly more likely to remain smoke-free compared to patients who received bupropion or placebo.
Smoking implies physical and psychological addiction to nicotine and when a smoker inhales a cigarette, nicotine reaches the brain in less than 10 seconds.
The nicotine binds to receptors, leading to the release of dopamine in the pleasure centers of the brain. As nicotine levels drop, satisfaction recedes quickly, resulting in craving and withdrawal symptoms such as irritability and anxiety. This, in turn, leads to continued smoking behavior.
Photo credit: www.cigarettes.com