New research reveals how a plant-based compound can ease smoking withdrawal symptoms – and it is even better than nicotine replacement therapy.

If giving up smoking is part of your New Year’s resolutions, there’s promising news: scientists have discovered a plant-based compound that “has the potential to be one of the big answers to that problem.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identifies smoking tobacco as the primary cause of preventable diseases, disabilities, and deaths in the United States.

In 2021, 11.5 percent of U.S. adults were smokers, with over half attempting to quit in the past year.

Regrettably, less than one in ten individuals manage to quit successfully each year.

However, there’s hope. A recent study published in Addiction reveals that cytisine, an affordable and generic smoking cessation aid utilized in Eastern Europe since the 1960s, significantly boosts the likelihood of successful quitting by more than twice when compared to a placebo.

Surprisingly, it may even surpass the effectiveness of nicotine replacement therapy.

Cytisine, a plant-derived compound renowned for alleviating smoking withdrawal symptoms, was initially synthesized as Tabex® in Bulgaria in 1964. Its use expanded to other regions in Eastern Europe and Asia, where it continues to be marketed.

While cytisine has enjoyed widespread popularity in Eastern Europe and has been accessible in Canada since 2017, it remains unavailable for purchase in the United States.

Given its affordability, cytisine holds promise as part of an initiative to enhance accessibility to smoking cessation drugs, particularly in low- and middle-income (LAMI) countries where such options are often limited.

Although Varenicline is available in the country, doctors often discourage smokers from using it.

Cytisine (CAS number 485-35-8), functions as a partial agonist of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α4β2* nAChR).

Its interaction with the receptor leads to a moderate elevation in dopamine levels and turnover within the mesolimbic system, thereby alleviating withdrawal symptoms.

Lead author Dr. Omar De Santi explains, “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. 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.”

This comprehensive study included findings from eight randomized controlled trials involving nearly 6,000 patients, comparing cytisine with a placebo.

The collective results demonstrated that cytisine increases the likelihood of successful smoking cessation by more than two-fold compared to a placebo.

Additionally, the study examined two randomized controlled trials comparing cytisine with nicotine replacement therapy, showing modestly favorable results for cytisine.

Three trials comparing cytisine with varenicline did not conclusively demonstrate a clear benefit for cytisine.

Image Credit: iStock