This plant-based pill could be the alternative to nicotine patches smokers have been waiting for

Plant-based could be the better option for more than just diet. If you choose the natural route, you can also ensure that you finally quit smoking for good.

Cytisine is a naturally occurring organic compound found in several plant species.

Studies have shown that it is useful in helping people quit smoking and it is already sold in some countries as a smoking cessation aid.

People who want to quit their bad habit take several cytisine pills, branded as different products in different countries, per day for up to two months.

And studies have shown that it can be more than twice as successful at getting people to put out their cigarettes than traditional methods of quitting.

The compound was first synthesized in Bulgaria in 1964 as the smoking cessation aid Tabex. In the years that followed, it spread to nearby countries in Europe and Asia, where it is still sold today.

In 2017, Polish pharmaceutical company Aflofarm sold cytisine as Desmoxan, available by prescription only, and Canada approved the over-the-counter version Cravv.

But while researchers say cheap cytisine could be a gamechanger in getting people to quit smoking, the substance is still not approved in the U.S. and other countries where smoking poses a significant public health burden.

A meta-analysis published in the journal Addiction in October 2023 found that cytisine increases the chance of successfully quitting smoking by more than twofold compared to a placebo.

It has been shown to be safe, with no serious side effects.

Additional, albeit limited, evidence has also shown that it may be even more effective than traditional cessation drugs as a nicotine replacement.

Lead author Dr Omar De Santi said: 'Our study adds to the evidence that cytisine is an effective and inexpensive smoking cessation aid. It could be very useful to reduce smoking in the Netherlands [low- and middle-income] countries where cost-effective smoking cessation medications are urgently needed.

'Globally, smoking is considered the leading cause of preventable death. Cytisine has the potential to be one of the big answers to that problem.'

The meta-analysis looked at eight studies involving 6,000 people that compared cytisine with placebo. The combined results demonstrated the superior efficacy of the substance compared to currently approved methods.

The analysis also looked at two studies comparing cytisine and nicotine replacement. There were 'modest' results in favor of the compound.

Currently approved cigarette smoking cessation aids in the US include nicotine replacement skin patches, chewing gum, and lozenges, all available without a prescription.

Prescription treatments include nicotine spray and a nicotine inhaler.

There are also two approved cessation medications that do not contain nicotine and are available only by prescription: bupropion hydrochloride, which helps you quit smoking by reducing withdrawal symptoms, and Varenicline tartrate, which helps you quit by blocking the effects of nicotine on the brain .

A major obstacle to getting cytisine approved in the US has to do with finances.

Before new medical products or drugs can be approved and sold in the US, a pharmaceutical company must support them.

But because cytisine occurs in nature, a drug manufacturer cannot patent the compound.

This reduces the financial incentive for a manufacturer to support a drug through the US approval process, which is extremely costly and time-consuming.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported iIn 2021, 11.5 percent of American adults, or 28.3 million people, smoked.

While it is still a concern among health experts, it is a decline from almost two decades ago.

In 2005, about 20 percent of American adults smoked.

Men smoke slightly more often than women: 13 percent of men and 10 percent of women indicate that they have ever smoked.

The CDC estimates that cigarette smoking costs the U.S. approximately $600 billion per year, including $240 billion in health care expenditures and $372 billion in lost productivity.

Cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of lung cancer and lung cancer is the second most common form of cancer.

It is also the leading cause of cancer deaths in the US, accounting for one in five cancer deaths.

In 2023, the American Cancer Society estimates that there will be 238,000 new cases of lung cancer and 127,000 deaths from lung cancer.

The number of lung cancer cases has been on a downward trend since the 1980s, due to wider awareness of the health risks posed by cigarettes.

In 1992, there were about 65 new cases of lung cancer for every 100,000 people, and by 2019 this had fallen to about 42.

In some parts of the US, such as New York City, smoking has now virtually disappeared.

Additional research has shown that smoking also has a harmful effect on the heart.

A 2022 study of 4,000 people found that cigarettes make the heart thicker and weaker, causing strain as it pumps blood through the body.

And the more someone smokes, the worse their heart functions.