Sign up to our free Living Well email for advice on living a happier, healthier and longer life Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter In 2021, varenicline, the most effective single drug for quitting smoking, was withdrawn from the market in the UK because impurities were found at greater levels than is considered safe. Rapidly, varenicline (then sold under its brand names, Champix and Chantix) became unavailable. This was a disaster for public health. Research from University College London estimated that varenicline being unavailable resulted in about 1,890 more avoidable deaths each year because fewer people were successfully quitting smoking. But there was hope. Cytisine (also known as cytisinicline), a naturally occurring plant-based product that had been used for decades in Eastern Europe, and more recently to great effect elsewhere in the world, was licensed in the UK and made available from January 2024. Even so, there was an extended period when neither were available …