Tobacco use kills more than seven million people each year worldwide, making it the leading cause of preventable death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). By 2030, the number of patients is expected to exceed 8 million. consistent with the year.
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Medications for other people who quit smoking have been limited.
Lately there are two non-nicotine treatments approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and no new drugs have been introduced in only about 20 years.
Tobacco use kills more than seven million people a year worldwide, making it the leading cause of preventable death, according to the CDC. (Stock)
“The tobacco epidemic has long been ignored and very little clinical progress has been made for the millions of other people who are addicted to nicotine and need to quit smoking,” John Bencich, chief executive of Achieve Life Sciences, said in an email. to Fox News digital.
“Citisinicline is thought to help other people overcome their nicotine addiction by reducing the cravings and withdrawal effects they experience when quitting smoking,” he added.
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The two lately marketed nicotine-free treatments are varenicline tartrate (trade names Chantix and Champix) and bupropion hydrochloride (marketed as Wellbutrin and Zyban).
Both have been linked to serious effects.
“Currently, available remedies have a history of ‘black box warnings’ and high rates of adverse events leading to a lack of acceptance and/or adherence to maintenance of the remedy,” Bencich said.
“The smoking epidemic has been neglected. “
“Historically, less than 4% of the smoking population in the United States has chosen to use Chantix to quit,” he added.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Pfizer (maker of Chantix) and Bausch Health (maker of Wellbutrin) for comment.
There are also nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products on the market, but everyone can tolerate them. (Stock)
There are also nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products on the market, which relieve withdrawal symptoms while omitting some of the destructive chemicals found in cigarettes, but aren’t right for everyone.
“Many of the existing nicotine replacement methods, such as nicotine gum, patches and lozenges, would possibly be beneficial, but possibly would have tolerance limits, resulting in non-compliance,” said Dr. Chris Tuell, clinical director of addiction at the Lindner Center of HOPE at the University of Cincinnati School of Medicine. in an email to Fox News Digital.
“This recent study on citisinicline turns out to be a step in the right direction, and offers very encouraging news for a portion of Americans who try to quit smoking for a year and fail,” he said.
In phase 3 clinical studies, citisinicline was shown to be up to 8 times more effective than placebo in helping others quit smoking and has shown consistently low rates of adverse events, which are a major challenge facing existing therapies.
According to the study, those who took citisinicline were six times more likely to not smoke after six months.
This Phase 3 exam of the moment of Achieve of citisinicline.
Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. , a Seattle, Washington, pharmaceutical company, announced the positive effects of a phase 3 trial of a drug called cytisicillin. (Stock)
(Phase 3 is meant to monitor a drug’s effectiveness and the possibility of adverse effects, according to the FDA’s website. )
Nearly 800 adult smokers at 20 clinical trial sites in the United States participated in this recent maximum trial.
“The study participants were heavy smokers with a long history of smoking and many past quit attempts, but they still managed to quit with citisinicline,” Bencich explained.
On average, participants were 53 years old, smoked an average of 20 cigarettes a day, and had a median smoking history of 36 years with 4 past quit attempts.
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Participants gained 3 doses over a period of six weeks or 12 weeks, compared to others who gained a placebo.
Data from any of the phase 3 trials showed very low rates of effect, with no treatment-related serious adverse events reported.
The drug, which is naturally derived from a plant source, has now been evaluated with a total of more than 2,000 participants with few adverse events, Bencich said.
The United States was the first country to use this type of drug to quit smoking, Dr. Lawrence Weinstein, lead medical officer at the American Addiction Centers in Tampa, Florida, told Fox News Digital.
In a separate trial to stop vaping, Achieve recently found that citisinicline could also be effective in helping other people overcome their nicotine addiction from vaping. (Stock)
“Cytisine and cytisine derivatives have been used effectively as smoking cessation agents for decades in countries, and the effects of this clinical trial verify those earlier findings,” he said.
“If this withdrawal aid is widely available, the benefits could simply be visual in the larger picture of addiction treatment,” Weinstein added.
For many, tobacco addiction is accompanied by alcohol and other substance intake, he explained.
“The smoking rate among other people with an alcohol use disorder is very high because of the greater effect produced when the two are used simultaneously,” Weinstein said.
For many people, smoking is accompanied by the intake of alcohol and other substances, a doctor told Fox News Digital. (Stock)
“As for other substances, smoking has been linked to increased cravings for stimulants and opioids and may lead to relapse,” he said.
Many studies over the years have shown a correlation between quitting smoking and long-term abstinence from alcohol and other substances, the doctor said.
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“The availability of this drug for nicotine addiction could have far-reaching positive effects,” he added.
Additionally, in a separate trial to stop vaping, Achieve recently found that citisinicline could also be effective in helping other people overcome their nicotine addiction.
Achieve has already begun the FDA filing procedure and plans to submit a new drug application in the first part of 2024, Bencich told Fox News Digital.
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“If approved, citisinicline could be the first FDA-approved remedy option for nicotine addiction in about 20 years,” he said.
“We are confident that this news will bring hope and excitement to other people who smoke and their caregivers that anything new will allow them to quit in the future. “
Melissa Rudy is a fitness editor and lifestyle team member at Fox News Digital.