Self Help

Even as you are reading this article, new medications are emerging to help smokers quit. In fact, there is a new prescription pill that’s designed to do just that. Of course, it’s still not a magic pill. It doesn’t eliminate urges to smoke. Those urges still require a serious effort to overcome.

This pill is Zyban, the trade name for a sustained-release tablet form of bupropion hydrochloride. This same drug, bupropion hydrochloride, has long been sold as an antidepressant, under the trade name Wellbutrin SR. Now it’s being marketed as the first non-nicotine prescription treatment for smoking addiction.

How does the pill work for smokers? The drug boosts the body’s levels of two “brain chemicals,” dopamine and norepinephrine - the same thing that occurs with nicotine. Actions of these chemicals in the brain give people a sense of energy and well being. Nicotine produces the same feelings.

According to the advertisements, using bupropion allows smokers to get the same feeling, while weaning themselves off nicotine. For many people, this helps to reduce withdrawal symptoms and lessens the urge to smoke. But like other nicotine replacement products, the pill should be used in combination with a quit-smoking behavior modification program.

In one study, the non-nicotine pill helped more smokers to quit than the nicotine patch. Using both the pill and the patch was even more effective, but the combination poses the risk of increasing blood pressure.

Zyban is usually taken twice a day - one pill in the morning and one in the early evening. It takes about a week for the pill to reach an effective level in the body. So smokers must start taking the pill before they quit smoking. Then you set a Quit Day within one to two weeks after starting treatment. Most smokers then take the pill for a total of seven to twelve weeks.

The non-nicotine pill is available only with a doctor’s prescription. It’s especially important to get a doctor’s advice, because Zyban is certainly not right for everyone. The drug is not recommended for:

• Women who are pregnant or breast-feeding.
• People with a history of eating disorders, such as bulimia or anorexia nervosa.
• Anyone who is currently taking or has recently taken a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAO) medication for depression.
• People already taking Wellbutrin, Wellbutrin SR, or other medicines that contain bupropion hydrochloride.
• People who have a seizure disorder, such as epilepsy.

Caution: Seizures disorders are a special concern. Bupropion is known to cause seizures in approximately 1 out of every 1,000 people taking bupropion hydrochloride. Although this is a small risk, it may be an important factor for people deciding whether or not to use this drug. Other common side effects include dry mouth and difficulty in sleeping.