Britain will provide a drug known as Varenicline but under different brand names, for free to tens of thousands of adult smokers in Britain, including the famous Chantix, because it is cheap and the most effective so far, to the point that it helps one in four smokers to quit addiction, making it the biggest fighter against smoking, and many times better than nicotine replacement gum or patches.
The National Health Service, known in England as the NHS, is introducing a pill that works by binding to receptors in the brain to prevent people from craving or enjoying nicotine, according to a summary of a report published by the British newspaper The Times today, which states that more than 85,000 people are expected to benefit from the drug annually.
The report states that one in eight adults in Britain smokes, or about 6 million, and that smoking caused more than 400,000 hospital admissions last year. An analysis by University College London also indicated that taking the drug “varenicline” over the next 5 years would prevent 9,500 smoking-related deaths in Britain alone, the most important of which is cancer.
Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of the NHS in England, will announce the drug in a speech at the NHS’s annual conference in Liverpool on Tuesday. “This simple daily pill could be a game changer for people who want to quit,” the newspaper quoted her as saying. Smoking is known to have devastating effects on the body, from the lungs to the heart, blood and brain, and increases the risk of cancer, diabetes and stroke.
The NHS is estimated to spend more than £2.6 billion a year treating health problems caused by smoking, with one in six hospital admissions for respiratory conditions in 2022-23 being linked to smoking, 8% to cancer and 7% to cardiovascular disease.
The Times also quoted Dr. Ian Walker, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, as saying: “Smoking is the biggest cause of cancer, and quitting completely is the best thing you can do for your health. Because tobacco causes almost 160 cancers every day in Britain alone,” he said.
