How Anti-Smoking Drugs Work

Brain changes spurred by the medications seem to help cut cravings

By Randy Dotinga

Monday, January 3, 2011

And that may be how they cut cravings.MONDAY, Jan.3 (HealthDay News) -- Two drugs that help people stop smoking -- bupropion and varenicline -- may change the way the brain reacts to seeing someone else smoke, new studies report.

Bupropion (Wellbutrin, Zyban) is prescribed around the world to help people resist smoking cues. But it has not been clear how the drug does this. Using brain scans, Christopher S. Culbertson, of the University of California, Los Angeles, and his colleagues examined what happened in the brains of 30 smokers who took the drug or a placebo for eight weeks./.../