About 85,000 people a year in England will be offered the chance to use Varenicline, a once-a-day tablet that experts say is as effective as vapes at helping people to stop smoking.
Amanda Pritchard, the chief executive of NHS England, called the pill a potential gamechanger in the fight to tackle smoking and its huge harm to health. The drug helps people to quit by reducing their cravings for nicotine and ensuring that it cannot affect the brain in its usual way. It has also been found to reduce the side effects smokers can experience when they stop using tobacco, such as irritability and trouble sleeping.
NHS England will start giving Varenicline to 85,000 people a year as part of its efforts to keep driving down the number of people who smoke. A decline in smoking rates over the last 20 years means that only 11.6% of adults in England still light up - or about 6 million people.
This story is from the November 12, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the November 12, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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