The National Health Service (NHS) in England is set to offer a pill that helps individuals quit smoking by reducing nicotine dependence and alleviating withdrawal symptoms. This newly “improved” version of varenicline works on the central nervous system to relieve cravings for nicotine and withdrawal symptoms like irritability and insomnia. It also acts as a deterrent to the psychological addiction by reducing the pleasure derived from smoking, blocking its effects on the brain.
Available by prescription only, early studies have shown it helps one in four individuals quit smoking for at least six months, according to the NHS.
Research from University College London (UCL) suggests that varenicline could help over 85,000 people quit smoking each year in the UK, potentially preventing more than 9,500 smoking-related deaths over the next five years.
In the UK, approximately one in eight adults—about six million people—are smokers, with an estimated 400,000 hospital admissions in Britain last year alone linked to smoking.
The NHS spends around £2.5 billion annually on treating health problems caused by smoking.
The introduction of this pill could save millions for the NHS, free up appointments for other patients, and save lives by allowing the system to assess patients more quickly, according to Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting.
Professor Nick Hopkinson of Imperial College London praised varenicline as “the most effective drug for stopping smoking,” adding that the lack of availability until now had been a “real problem.” He noted that quitting smoking is one of the best things a smoker can do to improve their health and that of those around them. “People are more likely to quit successfully if they have a combination of counselling support and medication to relieve cravings and help them escape tobacco dependency,” he said.
Source: ANA-MPA
