As smokers have a much higher incidence of chronic low back pain, the use of prescription medication as an aid in smoking cessation is also commonly recommended. The prescription medication Zyban has recently been found to improve the success rate in smoking cessation. It is most effective in conjunction with a nicotine patch. In using Zyban, patients usually select a quit date and begin taking Zyban two weeks prior to that date in order to allow a therapeutic blood level of the drug to accumulate. Zyban is actually an antidepressant that is also marketed under the brand name Wellbutrin, so it may also be used simultaneously as an antidepressant.
By: Peter F. Ullrich, Jr., MD
Updated March 2, 2005
