Drug May Help Women Stop Smoking
A drug that helps drug and alcohol addicts kick their habits may help women quit smoking, a new study conducted at the University of Chicago suggests. The drug, naltrexone, works by turning off the pleasure sensors in the brain. It also seems to help limit the weight gain produced by smoking cessation.
Study Specifics
The study, conducted by Andrea King and colleagues followed 110 smokers that were currently smoking 14 - 40 cigarettes per day and had not been able to quit with other therapies. All were given nicotine patches and behavior therapy. Half the smokers took a daily dose of naltrexone and half were given a placebo.
Although the study showed no difference in the male smokers, at the end of two months, 58% of the women taking naltrexone had quit smoking while only 38% of those taking a placebo. An added benefit is that the women taking the drug gained an average of one pound while the women taking the placebo gained four pounds in two months.
The drug also appears to help with cravings, fatigue, difficulty with concentration, and irritability.
Call Your Doctor - Call the Drug Companies
Because Naltrexone has no patent protection and any company can make a generic version of the drug, the pharmaceutical companies have little incentive to market the drug for smoking cessation.
This is particularly sad because the drug appears to have few side effects and King says the drug is "a safe and well tolerated medication."
Be a Part of the Next Study
King will conduct a follow up study that will follow 324 smokers over the course of a year. For more information, visit http://stopsmoking.uchicago.edu or call 773-834-8654.
