Plant-based could be the better option for more than just a diet – going the natural route may also help you finally put down the cigarettes for good.
Cytisine is a naturally-occurring organic compound found in several different plant species.
It has been found in studies to be helpful in getting people to quit smoking and is already sold in some countries as a smoking cessation aid.
People looking to quit their bad habit take multiple cytisine pills, branded as different products in several countries, per day, for up to two months.
And studies have shown it could be more than twice as successful as getting people to put out their cigarettes than traditional quitting methods.
Cytisine was first synthesized in Bulgaria in 1964 as the smoking cessation aid Tabex
The compound was first synthesized in Bulgaria in 1964 as the smoking cessation aid Tabex. In the years following, it spread to nearby countries in Europe and Asia where it is still sold today.
In 2017, Polish pharmaceutical company Aflofarm sold cytisine as Desmoxan, available by prescription only, and Canada approved the over-the-counter version Cravv.
But while researchers say low-cost cytisine could be a game changer to getting people to quit smoking, the substance has still not been approved in the US and in other countries where smoking poses a significant burden on public health.
A meta-analysis published in the journal Addiction in October 2023 found cytisine increases the chances of successfully quitting smoking by more than two-fold compared to a placebo.
It has been shown to be safe, with no serious side effects.
Additional, albeit limited, evidence has also shown it may even be more effective than traditional nicotine-replacement cessation aids.
Lead author Dr Omar De Santi said: ‘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 [low- and middle-income] countries where cost-effective smoking cessation drugs are urgently needed.
‘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.’
The meta-analysis looked at eight studies involving 6,000 people that compared cytisine to placebo. The combined results showed the superior efficacy of the substance over the currently approved methods.
The analysis also looked at two studies comparing cytisine and nicotine-replacement. There were ‘modest’ results in favor of the compound.
Currently approved aids to quit smoking cigarettes in the US include nicotine replacement skin patches, chewing gum and lozenges, all available over the counter.
Prescription treatments include nicotine spray and a nicotine inhaler.
There are also two approved cessation aids that do not contain nicotine and are available via prescription only: bupropion hydrochloride, which helps you quit smoking by reducing withdrawal symptoms, and varenicline tartrate, which helps you quit by blocking nicotine’s effects on the brain.
A major hurdle to getting cytisine approved in the US comes down to finances.
In order for new medical products or drugs to be approved and sold in the US, a pharmaceutical company has to back them.
But because cytisine occurs in nature, there is no way for a drugmaker to patent the compound.
This reduces the financial incentive for a manufacturer to support a medication through the US approval process, which is extremely costly and time consuming.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in 2021 that 11.5 percent of American adults smoked, or 28.3 million people.
While still a concern among health experts, it is a decline from nearly two decades before.
In 2005, about 20 percent of US adults smoked.
Men are slightly more likely to smoke than women, with 13 percent of men and 10 percent of women reporting ever having smoked.
The CDC estimates that cigarette smoking costs the US approximately $600 billion a year, including $240billion in healthcare spending and $372billion in lost productivity.
Cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of lung cancer and lung cancer the second most common cancer.
It is also the leading cause of cancer deaths in the US, accounting for one in five cancer deaths.
In 2023, the American Cancer Society estimates there will be 238,000 new lung cancer cases and 127,000 lung cancer deaths.
Rates of lung cancer have been trending downward since the 1980s amid wider awareness of the health risks posed by cigarettes.
There were around 65 new cases of lung cancer for every 100,000 people in 1992 and by 2019 this had declined to about 42.
In some areas of the US, such as New York City, smoking has now virtually disappeared.
Additional research has shown smoking has a damaging effect on the heart as well.
A 2022 study of 4,000 people found cigarettes make the heart thicker and weaker, which causes a strain when trying to pump blood around the body.
And the more a person smokes, the worse their heart functions.
