Bupropion to aid smoking cessation

Around 1 in 4 adults in the UK smoke cigarettes and about two-thirds say they would like to give them up. However, giving up permanently is difficult, and each year, only about 2% of all smokers manage to do so. [symbol: see text]Bupropion (Zyban-GlaxoWellcome) has recently been licensed "as an aid to smoking cessation in combination with motivational support". The manufacturer claims that there is evidence that the drug is "almost twice as effective as a nicotine patch in achieving smoking abstinence at one year". Here, we assess the efficacy and safety of bupropion in helping people stop smoking.