‘Game-changer’ stop-smoking pill varenicline to be offered on NHS

A “game-changer” pill is to be offered to tens of thousands of smokers in England who are trying to quit.

Varenicline can be more effective than nicotine-replacement gum or patches, and as effective as vapes, in helping people to stop smoking, according to NHS England.

The daily pill is said to reduce cravings and the pleasurable effects of nicotine that keep people addicted.

It also helps with withdrawal symptoms such as irritability or sleeping problems and patients usually take a 12-week course.

It’s estimated it could help more than 85,000 people per year and prevent up to 9,500 smoking-related deaths over the next five years, according to University College London (UCL).

Varenicline will become another option for people using NHS stop smoking services in England.

A branded version of the smoking cessation pill – known as Champix – was previously prescribed, but then withdrawn by Pfizer in 2021 as a precaution after an impurity was discovered.

However, the NHS said a generic version of the drug, from pharmaceutical firm Teva UK, has now been approved as safe by the Medicines Health and Regulatory Authority (MHRA).

It said another pill that works in a similar way, cytisine, is also being reviewed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and could be made available in the future.

Supplying varenicline is part of an effort to make more effective treatments available while saving more than £500m for the taxpayer, said NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard.

In a speech later, she will say the pill could be “a game-changer” for smokers. Meanwhile, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said it would save lives and millions of pounds for the NHS.

“Taken alongside our tobacco and vapes bill, the government and NHS are building a healthy society to help power a healthy economy,” said Mr Streeting.

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Dr Ian Walker, Cancer Research UK’s policy chief, said: “It’s great news that the NHS is making varenicline an option for people trying to quit.

“Along with funding for cessation services, making tools like this available will help more people stop smoking.”

Around six million people – one in eight UK adults – are smokers and there were more than 400,000 hospital admissions in England attributed to smoking in 2022-23, according to the NHS.

Around one in six (16%) of all admissions for respiratory diseases were estimated to be smoking-related, while it also caused 8% of admissions for cancers and 7% for cardiovascular disease.

Each year, the NHS spends around £2.5bn on treating health issues caused by smoking – the leading cause of preventable illness and deaths.