Almost two months ago, we posted that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, was fast-tracking a potentially promising new drug to help smokers quit smoking. In earlier clinical trials, Chantix, varenicline tartrate, worked in ways that previous smoking cessation drugs did not, indicating a higher success rate where other drugs had failed.

Chantix acts on the areas of the brain affected by nicotine and helps those who smoke cigarettes to quit smoking in two ways: by providing some nicotine effects to ease the withdrawal symptoms and by blocking the effects of nicotine from cigarettes if they start smoking again.

Now, according to three studies published in the July 5 Journal of the American Medical Association, it is being reported that Chantix quadruples the chances that a smoker can quit smoking and is twice as effective as the currently prescribed drug Zyban. Keep in mind though, the research was funded by the drug maker, Pfizer, and experts warn that the drug is far from a perfect solution for smokers trying to quit -- and "definitely not a panacea for smoking cessation."

According to Dr. Steven Galson, Director of FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, "Chantix therapy has proven to be effective in smokers motivated to quit and will provide another tool for physicians to use for the millions of smokers who want to quit." I believe this is a more realistic assessment of the ability of a medication designed to help smokers quit smoking.

UPDATE: Chantix: quit smoking drug now available in US pharmacies.