Research by British and Polish scientists on a drug called Tabex, developed by the Soviets more than 40 years ago, shows promising results as an affordable alternative for those who hope to quit smoking, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Available since 1964 in the former Eastern bloc, Tabex contains a natural product, cytisine, extracted from the Golden Rain acacia plant, and as a smoking-cessation aid is similar to nicotine replacement drugs such as Chantix, patches and gums.
The drug only costs $15 for a full course 3- to 4-week treatment. In the study, 740 smokers were randomly assigned to cytisine or a placebo for 25 days. Participants also received minimal counseling to help them quit. More than 80 percent of participants had already tried to quit.
After one year, 8.4 percent of those who had taken cytisine were still not smoking, compared with 2.4 percent of those who received the placebo.
Adverse side effects included stomach ache, dry mouth, difficulty breathing and nausea, however, these were generally mild and not long lasting, the authors noted.