60s Bulgarian Antismoking Pill to Make Medical Breakthrough

A cheap pill, sold in Bulgaria since 1964, can help scores of people give up smoking, a recent study shows. File photo

A pill, which was developed in Bulgaria during the time of the Communist regime, can make medical breakthrough by helping millions of smokers to give up the habit safely and cheaply

The pill has been sold in Bulgaria as Tabex since 1964, and has the chance of becoming a hit on the developing countries markets because it is made from a widely-available, plant-based ingredient.

Attention focuses on Tabex with the publication of the first large-scale, modern study of the pill's effect in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study has been conducted in Poland by University College London. It shows the effect of the Bulgarian pill is comparable with the way more expensive Chantix of Pfizer and Zyban of GlaxoSmithKline.

The experiment involved giving Cytisene, the main ingredient of Tabex, to 740 volunteers, who smoke over 10 cigarettes a day in the course of 25 days – they were instructed to take 6 pills daily in the first three days, and then begin reducing the number of cigarettes they smoke with fully stopping smoking after the fifth day, and continue taking the pill for another three weeks.

8.4% smoked less than 5 cigarettes a day in the first 12 months after stopping taking the pill, compared to 2.4% in the control group. 13.2% have been able to completely give up the harmful habit, compared to 7.3% in the control group.

The study further shows Tabex is the most effective if taken for more than four weeks, while his rare side effects included upset stomach, nausea, and dry mouth.

Monthly expenses for the use of Tabex are estimated at USD 6 to 15, compared to USD 100 for other brand-name products, which can make the Bulgarian pill extremely competitive on markets in poorer countries, but it is unclear if it will ever reach those in the US, Western Europe and Japan, where there is no license for its sales.

Tabex is a product of the Bulgarian Sopharma company and it is offered in Central and Eastern Europe.

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