Varenicline (Champix) is a partial agonist to nicotine receptors, and is approved for smoking cessation therapy. However, the FDA has raised concern about a possible increase in the incidence of cardiovascular events of patients taking the drug in randomised trials. In this meta-analysis, Prochaska et al. looked at 22 randomised controlled trials of current tobacco […]
Tag: smoking
Clarifying the role of nicotine in weight control
Despite the impressive gains in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality that have occurred over the past decades, a veritable elephant still exists in the room in the shape of the tidal wave of obesity sweeping the globe, which may reverse these advances. Obesity has proved fundamentally difficult to manage, with few therapies demonstrating sustained weight loss […]
Smoking cessation provides rapid vascular benefit
A causal relationship between smoking and cardiovascular death is well established. But, for those patients who successfully stop smoking, are the detrimental effects fully reversible? And if so, how quickly do the benefits become apparent? […]