Zyban is the trade name for the drug bupropion.

Zyban was originally developed as an anti-depressant - its ability to help people stop smoking was discovered by chance and exactly how it helps is not yet understood.

It is not a magic cure - you will need determination to stop and stay stopped. But, as with NRT it will roughly double your chances of success.

Too little research has been done to be sure whether or not Zyban is better than NRT although one study found that Zyban was better than patches the success rates overall suggest they are probably both as helpful as each other.

Zyban treatment starts 8 to 14 days before your quit day. There is no need to cut down in the run up to your quit day (unless you want to) but on your quit day you should stop smoking altogether.

Most people take one (150mg) tablet for three days and then two tablets for the rest of the course of treatment. You normally take Zyban for 8 weeks.

You will still need effort and determination to succeed, and will almost certainly have to face some difficulties and temptation to smoke along the way.

Because Zyban reduces cravings for cigarettes, and the taste and effect of cigarettes if they do smoke, people sometimes feel that they are safe to have the occasional cigarette. But it is not safe to give in to temptation: if you do it is much less likely that you will succeed in quitting. It is also important to remember that you will have to stop taking Zyban soon and you need to use the time you are taking it to learn to live without cigarettes.