Every two years, the World Health Organization (WHO) publishes its Model List of Essential Medicines (EML), a collection of medicines considered essential by WHO experts.

The purpose of the list is to guide national authorities on the type of medicines that should be available in the country. 

On the 1st of October, the WHO introduced two new medicines classed as essential medicine for people who wish to stop using tobacco.

Bupropion and varenicline are medicines that work in a different way from nicotine replacement. The new medicines reduce cravings for nicotine without supplying a...

The featured articles investigate the association of smoking products and alcohol consumption, identify causes and influences, and explore therapeutic avenues and cessation interventions.  

Free to access until 31 January!

Articles

1. Targeting the Opioid Receptors: A Promising Therapeutic Avenue for Treatment in “Heavy Drinking Smokers”
2. Behavioral Economic Demand for Alcohol and Cigarettes in Heavy Drinking Smokers: Evidence of Asymmetric Cross-commodity Reinforcing Value
3. A Combined Alcohol and Smoking Cue-Reactivity Paradigm in People Who Drink Heavily and Smoke Cigarettes: Preliminary...

This is a study, led by the University of Bristol, and published in Addiction Journal. It was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), the research partner of the NHS, public health and social care.

The most effective tobacco cessation pharmacotherapies are combination therapies, particularly varenicline and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) combined. Varenicline, bupropion, and NRT are recommended as first line treatments to stop smoking by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). 

The researchers identified 363 trials for effectiveness and 355 for...

BACKGROUND: Characterising flavours are an important marketing tool for the tobacco industry. Following the European Tobacco Products Directive, the sales of menthol cigarettes in all EU Member States, including the Czech Republic, were banned as of May 20, 2020. The aim of this study is to map and analyse the response of the tobacco industry to the menthol cigarette ban in its marketing campaigns and media communications in the Czech Republic.

METHODS: We conducted a non-systematic online review of marketing campaigns and a search of media content. The research sample used in the analysis of...