12p pills ‘could help smokers quit’

A nicotine substitute which can be bought online for 12p more than triples a smoker’s chances of quitting for at least a year, research has shown.

Tabex, which contains the active ingredient cytisine, is obtained from laburnum seeds. Experts believe the drug is as effective as conventional stop-smoking treatments.

But despite four decades of use in eastern Europe, the pills are unlikely to be available on prescription in the United Kingdom for another two to three years. The British scientist who led the new trial spoke of the ‘Alice in Wonderland’ regulatory system responsible for the delay.

Robert West, professor at the Cancer Research UK Health Behaviour Research Centre at University College London, said he expected to see a flood of internet orders for Tabex once news about the drug emerged.

“It’s been available in central and eastern Europe for more than 40 years, we have safety data on millions of people, and we know it’s effective, but it’s not licensed in Britain,” he said.

“People can make their own choices. A licence is not a licence to buy, it’s a licence to market. There’s nothing illegal about buying this drug online, but there’s always the risk that you might not get what you expect.”

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which licences drugs for sale in the UK, warned of the risks of buying unregulated drugs over the internet, however.

The trial, involving 740 patients, showed that people who wanted to stop smoking were 3.4 times more likely to succeed with Tabex than with a ‘dummy’ placebo tablet.

Participants took between two and six pills per day for 25 days. After treatment, 8.4 per cent of those given Tabex were able to avoid smoking for a year compared with 2.4 per cent of the placebo group.

The low overall success rates reflected how hard it was even for motivated smokers to quit, said the researchers.

However Prof. West said his team was “extremely encouraged” by the results, published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

“The benefits of Tabex are comparable with those of other smoking cessation treatments, but at a fraction of the cost,” he said.

The new study, funded by the National Prevention Research Initiative managed by the Medical Research Council, should pave the way to the drug being licensed in the EU and UK.

At least one further trial will be necessary before a licence is granted, said Prof. West.

Jean King, Cancer Research UK’s director of tobacco control, said: “It is great news that smokers around the world may have access to a new way to help them beat their addiction. We hope that cytisine will help low and middle-income countries meet their obligations to help treat nicotine dependence under the World Health Organisation’s treaty on tobacco”.