Rimonabant: a stop of the tobacco without the kilos moreover?

How to stop the cigarette without taking weight? Rimonabant, a drug currently tested in the United States, could bring a solution. Indeed, this substance is equipped with two highly interesting properties. On the one hand, it contributes to the weight loss, on the other hand, it reduces the dependence to the tobacco. In all logic, it should help the smokers to stop smoking, without the disadvantage of taking weight.
While acting on the system called “endocannabinoïde”, which exploits a big role the regulation of the weight and the dependence with the tobacco, Rimonabant could help the obese people to eliminate their ponderal excess, and on two accounts, the candidates with nicotinic weaning who fear the catch of a few kilos.
This hope comes from the results of two studies led to the United States, Rio-Lipids and Stratus-US. The first shows a good effectiveness with respect to the excess of weight. It related to 1.036 obese subjects, assigned to take each day during one year, either a placebo, or of Rimonabant (20mg/j). All were subjected to a mode hypocaloric. At the end of the analysis, the weight loss was of 8,6 kg in the Rimonabant group, against 2,3 kg in the placebo group. A loss of more than 5% of the initial weight was obtained at 75% of the patients treated by Rimonabant, against 27,6% of the subjects under placebo. The reduction in the waist measurement is also higher of 9 cm compared to the placebo.
In the second study, 787 large smokers (23 cigarettes per day on average) motivated in stop smoking and having already made at least four unfruitful attempts, were recruited. There still, the ones received a placebo, while the others profited from Rimonabant (20mg/jour), during one ten weeks period. In the long term, 36,2% of the subjects under Rimonabant were abstemious, against 20,2% pennies placebo. As for the catch of weight, it was only of 0,3 kg with this molecule miracle, against 1,1 kg with the placebo.
Other tests are envisaged in various countries and of new results should be published from here the end of 2004.
Obesity and tobacco, of the facts to meditate
Epidemic of world obesity: in 2002, a billion subjects throughout the world were in overweight, including 300.000 clinically obese.

Benefits of nicotinic weaning: after one year of abstinence, the disease risk coronary is tiny room of 50%. After ten years, the pulmonary cancer risk is tiny room of 50%. The people who stop smoking before the 50 years age have a risk twice less high to die in the fifteen following years than those which continue to smoke.