CHICAGO, July 5 (UPI) -- A new drug marketed under the brand name Chantix appears to increase significantly the number of people who are able to quit smoking, new studies show.
Three studies reported Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggest Chantix -- marketed by Pfizer Inc. -- will help smokers stay away from smoking months after quitting.
The drug, generically known as varenicline, is not a cure-all for people wishing to quit smoking, an accompanying editorial said.
Critics note that even though the studies were subjected to the scrutiny of other experts in the field, Pfizer had financial relationships with most of the studies' authors.
One study reported that 43.9 percent of people who smoked at least 10 cigarettes a day stayed away from smoking after 12 weeks of Chantix, the Journal reports. That compares with 29.5 percent of those who took another anti-smoking drug, bupropion (commercially known as Zyban or Wellbutrin), and 17.7 percent of those who took a placebo.
