New Drug Helps Smokers Quit

27 year old Amanda Lugones puts a lot of effort into maintaining her slim physique. She works out, eats right, but, she knows it’s time to start putting this same effort and attention into what’s past her exterior. Amanda has been a smoker for the past decade. “I worked so hard to have my body where it is now that I am scared if I quit smoking I am going to just gain the weight back, because I will eat more because usually a cigarette will kill my hunger and if I don’t have that what else am I going to do but eat and that is my biggest fear,” says Amanda.

For millions of smokers trying to quit, one of the biggest challenges is weight control. “When you smoke you get a lot of nicotine, it is a stimulant and it revs up your metabolism, when you quit your body has to readjust and that readjustment period if the weight gain is tremendous it will certainly derail people from their goal of trying to quit smoking,” says Virginia Reichert, Director of the Center for Tobacco Control at North Shore LIJ Health System.

But now, according to a study conducted by researchers at Yale School of Medicine published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, the drug, naltrexone, might help reduce weight gain in smokers as they try to quit.
“What we found was that the low dose of naltrexone, the 25 milligrams a day, reduced the amount of weight smokers gained when they quit smoking,” explains researcher, Stephanie O’Malley of Yale University School of Medicine.

Smokers enrolled in the study also wore a nicotine patch in addition to taking the naltrexone. Although the 25mg dose reduced weight gain during treatment, it did not increase the number of smokers who were able to quit smoking. “There are a couple of findings in the study, we had a finding that is promising but needs to be confirmed and that is that the higher dose the 100 milligrams a day helped people quit smoking more successfully if they completed the study however this really needs to be repeated and confirmed in a larger sample,” says O’Malley.

Naltrexone works by blocking some of the reinforcing effects of opioids, which are a part of the chemical system in the brain that creates a sense of reward and helps reduce pain. Substances such as sweet and rich foods, morphine, alcohol and smoking stimulate this system.

“I am so excited about this drug, because maybe it is another opportunity and chance for me to try to quit this habit I just love the point that I won’t gain weight,” says Amanda.

According to medical experts going cold turkey works for some people, but, those who use nicotine replacement products and slowly ease into not smoking as a lifestyle change are usually very successful. Behavioral modification therapy has also proven to be quite effective. Patients may be counseled to avoid specific triggers or situations that lead to smoking.

Signs of addiction to cigarettes include smoking more than seven cigarettes per day, inhaling deeply and frequently, smoking cigarettes containing nicotine levels more than 0.9mg, and smoking within 30 minutes of awakening in the morning.