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Cheap pill 'could help smokers to quit'
September 29, 2011
An inexpensive nicotine substitute tablet could help smokers to quit their habit, new research has found.
Tabex can be purchased online for just 12p and contains an ingredient from laburnum seeds, called cytisine.
A new trial, part-funded by the British Heart Foundation, has found that people who wanted to give up smoking were 3.4 times more likely to succeed if they took Tabex than if they took a placebo (dummy pill).
As well as improving people's health, the finding could have important implications for those with private health insurance, as staying off cigarettes could help to reduce their premiums.
Doireann Maddock, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, welcomed the research.
She said that giving up smoking is the "single more important thing" that people can do if they want to live a longer and healthier life.
"We need some bigger trials first, but this pill may yet offer a low-cost treatment to help people break this harmful habit," Ms Maddock said.
"In the meantime, those looking to quit smoking should speak to their GP about the huge range of proven services that are out there to help."
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