By Bisi Onile-Ere
(07/15/04)-- Scientists may have come up with a pill that fights the two biggest health problems in this country -- smoking and obesity. HealthFirst reporter Bisi Onile-Ere says researchers think it may soon be possible.
Scientists may have come up with a pill that fights the two biggest health problems in this country -- smoking and obesity. HealthFirst reporter Bisi Onile-Ere says researchers think it may soon be possible.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the two major preventable causes of death in this country are smoking and obesity.
The cure for both could come sooner than we think. "I had promised my wife for the last 18 years I'd quit smoking and I was actually smoking behind her back," admitted Peter Van Ooyen
Used car salesman Peter Van Ooyen tried to kick the habit for years but nothing worked. When he saw an ad asking people to test a new drug to stop smoking, he decided to try it. "Within nine or ten days, I was ready to quit," he said.
He's now smoke-free, thanks to the drug rimonabant.
Researchers say the pill helps smokers quit the habit, with few negative side effects. It also has one positive side effect -- patients lose weight.
Elbert D. Glover, is a Behavioral Medicine Researcher at West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia. "We tested it totally, two completely different studies, both for smoking and to see how that worked and independently for obesity, and it worked like a charm in both," he said.
Dr. Elbert Glover says the pill blocks the signals to the brain that cause cravings for nicotine. It also eliminates hunger pangs. But, Dr. Glover points out; it doesn't stop those urges completely. "They are all looking for the magic pill and in most cases, you know, it just doesn't do it for you. You have to work at it as well," he advised.
After kicking his smoking habit and losing ten pounds, Van Ooyen says he's never felt better. "I don't want to ever go back and smoke. You can smell it and you kind of remember, but you really don't feel like going back," he said.
The results of two rimonabant studies were released this spring. They indicate that people on the drug lost an average of twenty pounds a year and that the drug doubled a smoker's chance at quitting for good.
Rimonabant should become available as a prescription drug within the next two years.