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Pills that Help Addicts Quit Have a Catch

Prescription medication can help some people beat their addictions—but not without complications

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Several pharmaceutical drugs promise to help addicts quit, and many people embrace the ease of popping a pill. Yet research continues to show that although medication can help, support networks and therapy targeting the underlying behaviors are still the best available ways to kick addiction over the long term. In addition, some of these medications come with scary side effects—hundreds of people have reportedly committed suicide while on the smoking-cessation drug Chantix, for example. Read on for short profiles of the addiction drugs currently on the market, as well as a few compounds that may hit shelves soon.

Roni Jacobson is a science journalist based in New York City who writes about psychology and mental health.

More by Roni Jacobson
SA Mind Vol 26 Issue 2This article was published with the title “A Pill to Treat Addiction?” in SA Mind Vol. 26 No. 2 (), p. 17
doi:10.1038/scientificamericanmind0315-17a

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