An Evaluation of Cytisinicline for Smoking Cessation in Adult Smokers

Rigotti NA, Benowitz NL.
An Evaluation of Cytisinicline for Smoking Cessation in Adult Smokers
Expert Opin Pharmacother. 2026 Apr 6:1-9. doi: 10.1080/14656566.2026.2646283. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41885781.

Introduction: Cigarette smoking is the world's leading preventable cause of death. With no new smoking cessation pharmacotherapy approved since 2006, the 29 million US adults who smoke need new treatment options. Cytisinicline, a partial agonist at α4β2 neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, is the name of a new dosing regimen of cytisine, a smoking cessation pharmacotherapy that has been sold for decades in Eastern Europe but is currently unavailable in the US. The Food and Drug Administration is evaluating a New Drug Application for cytisinicline.

Areas covered: We summarize the history, chemistry, pharmacodynamics, and pharmacokinetics of cytisine and cytisinicline and explain their different dosing regimens. Two Phase 3 randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trials have demonstrated cytisinicline's efficacy and safety for smoking cessation in US adults. We review the trial results in the context of previous evidence supporting cytisine and other cessation medications.

Expert opinion: Cytisinicline has a strong evidence base to support US licensure as a smoking cessation aid. If approved and its effectiveness in clinical practice confirms its clinical trial efficacy, cytisinicline will likely join varenicline and combination nicotine replacement as a first-line smoking cessation treatment option. It may also aid cessation of electronic-cigarette vaping or other nicotine-mediated dependence disorders.