New drug promises hope for addicted smokers

Commenting onthe launch of Zyban (bupropion) a new smoking cessation treatment from GlaxoWellcome, Clive Bates, Director of ASH said:

"By using these anti-smoking drugsto deal with the addiction to tobacco, you are effectively treating in advanceall the various illness that smoking eventually causes. This is new thinking and important in themodernisation of the NHS - if you deal with the causes rather than wait for theconsequences of smoking, you can save a lot of money and avoid a lot of miseryand ill health."

"Zyban works by de-sensitising thebrain's nicotine receptors and has performed very well in trials. For a lot of smokers it offers a real hope thatthey will finally overcome their addiction to cigarettes."

"The great thing about makingproducts like this available on prescription [1] is that general practitionerswill involve themselves much more closely in their patients' efforts to quitsmoking. Every doctor knows that justabout the best all round health improvement comes from quitting smoking."

ASH was keen tostress that this is a useful addition to the products to help smokers quit, andnot an alternative to the nicotine replacement products.

"For some smokers Zyban will bejust the thing, but for other NRT or even the two in combination will be theright choice. Zyban has restrictions onits use and more serious side effects than NRT, and NRT is more readilyavailable. With all the products nowavailable we have a better chance of helping smokers to quit."

However, ASHcast doubt on some of the claims made for the product.

"We have to watch out forwonder-drug hype about Zyban. It's good but it's not a silver bullet - smokersare still going to need lots of willpower and determination to keeptrying." said Bates [2]

[1] The Government has yet to formally declare whetherZyban will be made available on NHS 'reimbursable' prescription (i.e. publiclyfunded) but is widely expected to do this. The Government is also consideringwhether to blacklist all nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products -currently only those products announced before 1997 are blacklisted (i.e. notpublicly funded). Smoking costs the NHS£1.7 billion per year, and expenditure on smoking cessation is one of the mostcost-effective health interventions known.

[2] See ASH press briefing on claims forZyban efficacy and its performance relative to NRT.

Contact	Clive Bates, ASH	(020) 7739 5902

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