Skip to main content

Experimental Drug Cytisinicline May Help Folks Kick the Vaping Habit

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on May 7, 2024.

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, May 7, 2024 -- An experimental anti-nicotine drug appears to help people quit vaping, a new study says.

Cytisinicline is a naturally occurring plant-based substance that binds to nicotine receptors in the brain, reducing a person’s cravings, researchers said.

The drug has been shown effective in helping people quit smoking, even though it’s not yet approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Now, new clinical trial results show that vapers taking cytisinicline tablets were more than twice as likely to successfully stop using e-cigarettes after 9 to 12 weeks.

“No medication has been approved by the FDA for vaping cessation in the United States,” said lead researcher Dr. Nancy Rigotti, director of Massachusetts General Hospital’s Tobacco Research and Treatment Center. “Our study indicates that cytisinicline might be an option to fill this gap and help adult vapers to stop using e-cigarettes.”

About 11 million U.S. adults use nicotine-laced e-cigarettes, and about half want to stop but are too hooked to quit.

For the clinical trial, 160 adults who vape nicotine but don’t smoke were randomly assigned to take cytisinicline or a placebo for 12 weeks, along with support therapy to quit.

Nearly 32% of those taking cytisinicline had successfully quit by the end of the trial, compared with 15% of those taking a placebo.

The results jibe with those of earlier trials that tested the drug’s ability to help people quit smoking, researchers said.

“The results of our study need to be confirmed in a larger trial with longer follow-up, but they are promising,” Rigotti said in a news release.

The new clinical trial results were published May 6 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Sources

  • Massachusetts General Hospital, news release, May 6, 2024

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted May 2024

Read this next

These Three Bad Habits Can Harm Your Health As Young As Your Mid-30s

FRIDAY, April 25, 2025 -- Bad habits like smoking, heavy drinking and skipping exercise can start to impact a person’s health as early as their mid-30s, a new study...

Smoking/Vaping Combo Poses Health Risks

THURSDAY, April 17, 2025 -- People might think they can reduce their risk of cancer by occasionally swapping their cigarettes for a vape pen — but they would be wrong...

CDC Cuts Key Smoking Programs Despite Success in Curbing Smoking Rates

MONDAY, April 7, 2025 -- The U.S. government has shut down or paused several major anti-smoking efforts. Public health leaders say the cuts could reverse decades of progress that...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.