Weight gain is a common side effect of cytisine. However, stopping smoking often causes weight gain (without treatment) as nicotine is an appetite suppressant.

Cytisine should be taken with water. You should plan a quit date (the day of your last cigarette) no later than the fifth day of treatment. After your planned quit date, you should not smoke again as it can make the harmful effects of nicotine even worse.

100 tablets (one pack) are enough for a complete quit attempt over a 25-day period. If your quit attempt doesn’t work this time, you can resume treatment in two to three months.

A dosing schedule can be seen below. It’s useful to set timers on your phone to remind you to take the tablets. If you forget a dose, do not double up next time.

Cytisine dosing schedule

1. Day 1-3: 6 tablets daily, 1 tablet every 2hours
2. Day 4-12: 5 tablets daily, 1 tablet every 2.5 hours
3. Day 13-16: 4 tablets daily,1 tablet every 3hours
4. Day 17-20: 3 tablets daily, 1 tablet every 5 hours
5. Day 21-25: 2 tablets daily, 1-2 tablets a day

The standard course of treatment is 25 days. You’re likely to notice your cravings start to reduce quite soon into your treatment journey. The benefits of quitting smoking can be felt quite quickly. However, it’s important you finish a complete course.

There are many ways quit smoking, such as:

Counselling, hypnotherapy, acupuncture and quitting 'cold turkey' with no support are all other ways of quitting smoking.

Cytisine is suitable for smokers between the ages of 18 – 65 wanting to quit. You should not take cytisine if you have liver, kidney or heart problems, or a history of stroke. Pregnant and breastfeeding women should also not take cytisine.

Women taking the pill to prevent pregnancy should also use a barrier method of contraception when taking cytisine, such as condoms (cytisine makes the pill less effective). Alternatively, talk to your doctor about switching to a highly effective (around 99%) long-acting contraceptive, such as the coil.

In 2011, a large trial confirmed that cytisine is a safe and effective treatment to help with stopping smoking. Since then, several other trials have confirmed its safety.

You can smoke while taking cytisine. However, you should stop smoking no later than the fifth day of taking cytisine.

If you smoke for longer, you risk worsening the treatment reactions. If you take more cytisine than you should, you may experience symptoms such as; feeling generally unwell, feeling and being sick, blurred vision, breathing problems, and convulsions. If you experience this, it’s important you get medical advice immediately

Cytisine should not be used with anti-tuberculosis drugs. You should also let us know of any other prescription medicines you are taking during your consultation.

100 tablets (one pack) are enough for a complete quit attempt over a 25 day period. If your quit attempt doesn't work this time, you can re-order treatment in two to three months time in your account.

• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38161271/
• https://www.ncsct.co.uk/library/view/pdf/Cytisine-1-5mg-uk-spc-clean.pdf
• https://www.ncsct.co.uk/library/view/pdf/Cytisine.pdf