New butt-out pill now for sale here

A new pill designed to help smokers quit goes on pharmacy shelves today.

The Zyban Sustained Release Tablet, approved by Health Canada July 31, is being launched today by drug manufacturer Glaxo Wellcome.

The prescription pill is the only nicotine-replacement therapy on the market that doesn't contain nicotine. It is also the first smoking-cessation method that targets the biological cause of the addiction.

Glaxo Wellcome spokesperson Carlo Mastrangelo says Zyban works by altering two of the brain's neurotransmitters associated with nicotine addiction -- dopamine and noradrenaline.

He says researchers still aren't exactly sure how it works, but the pill targets the addiction centre of the brain, reducing nicotine cravings and withdrawal symptoms.

"This is going to be the new gold standard for smoking-cessation," says Mastrangelo. "It's not a magic pill. You have to be prepared and motivated to quit. So there is no magic bullet here, but it will be an option that will give hope to the thousands of people who've tried everything else with no success."

Though officially being launched today, the little blue pills have been available at some pharmacies for a week.

Millwoods IDA Drugs received its first bottle of Zyban Monday and sold it within a few hours. Pharmacy assistant Sylvia Andries says the store doesn't know how popular the drug will be, so it has only ordered three more bottles. But she says it doesn't expect a deluge of customers on the first day.

"We know lots of people will want it," says Andries. "But we'll have to wait and see how many doctors will actually prescribe it."

The pill causes temporary side-effects including insomnia and a dry mouth. More seriously, it can cause allergic reactions severe enough to require medical attention in three out of 1,000 people. It can also cause seizures in one in 1,000, so people with epilepsy, head trauma, brain tumours or eating disorders should not take the drug. Mastrangelo says seizures are a common side-effect of anti-depressants.

"It's not perfect and it won't be the answer for everyone," says Les Hagen, executive director of Action on Smoking and Health, a non-profit tobacco control agency. "But there's no question it's a revolutionary breakthrough."

Hagen said 80 per cent of smokers want to quit or have tried to. Since September is the second most popular month to quit smoking, Zyban's release is good timing.

Nick Siminick has been smoking half a pack of cigarettes a day since he was 10 years old. The 32-year-old tradesperson admits he's never tried to quit but he's anxious to give Zyban a try.

"You know, I don't believe in miracle drugs," he says. "But if it'll help me quit, it's worth a try. It's for my health and honestly, for the amount I spend on cigarettes, it's worth it money-wise."

Zyban (bupropion hydrochloride) is actually a modified dose of the antidepressant Wellbutrin.

In the 1980s, doctors noticed some patients who used the medication spontaneously stopped smoking. After hearing that some doctors had begun prescribing Wellbutrin to help people butt out, Glaxo Wellcome decided to put the smoking-cessation claims to the test.

In a major clinical trial last year, 49 per cent of 1,500 heavy smokers using Zyban managed to quit smoking after four to seven weeks, compared to 36 per cent who used the nicotine patch. A follow-up study a year later showed that Zyban was twice as effective as the patch in helping people to quit for good. Twenty-three per cent of those who used Zyban had kicked the habit compared to 12 per cent on the patch.

A one-month supply of Zyban costs $55 to $60 dollars and the average treatment lasts seven to 12 weeks. On a daily basis, the nicotine-replacement therapy costs about $1.60 -- less than half the price of the alternatives.

For now, smokers will have to pick up the tab. But the province's drug-review committee will look into whether Zyban should be covered by Alberta Health.

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SMOKING GUNS

* 28 per cent of Albertans over the age of 15 smoke daily

* Alberta spends $230 million every year on health-care costs related to tobacco

* 3,000 Albertans die annually as a result of smoking; 45,000 die across the country

* Tobacco kills more Canadians than all other forms of substance abuse combined

Source: Action on Smoking and Health