Cytisine is currently used in eastern Europe and Canada as a smoking cessation aid. Photo credit: Yikrazuul, CC.
Despite being used in central and eastern Europe for decades as a smoking cessation aid, cytisine pills just recently gained regulatory approval in the UK and will be available on the National Health Service (NHS) from January 22 as a prescription-only medicine.
Cytisine, which remains unavailable in the US and a number of other countries, is a naturally occurring compound found in laburnum seeds, but the seeds themselves are toxic.
In a recent study published in Addiction, researchers led by Dr. Omar de Santi, a toxicologist at the Posadas National hospital in Argentina conducted eight randomized controlled trials among nearly 6,000 patients and compared the success rates of smokers trying to quit smoking by taking cytisine or a placebo. Cytisine was found to be more than twice as effective as the placebo to quit smoking.
The research also reviewed two randomized controlled trials that compared cytisine with nicotine replacement therapy, showing modest results in favor of cytisine. Additionally, three trials compared cytisine with varenicline, with no clear advantage for cytisine.
In the UK, the £115 cost for a 25-day course of 100 cytisine pills may prove to be a deterrent for some areas in providing the drug as part of their health services, opting for more affordable alternatives such as nicotine replacement therapy or vapes.