Doctors prescribe Zyban to people who are having trouble quitting smoking. Apparently, it helps reduce the cravings, irratibility, and sluggishness that often afflict people trying to quit. Intriguingly, Zyban is chemically identical to Wellbutrin, a common antidepressant drug; they're both bupropion hydrochloride. Buproprion is actually an atypical antidepressant; instead of acting on serotonin and norepinephrine, it blocks the reuptake of dopamine.

Why market the same drug under two different names? Pure psychology, I think. If you asked your doctor to help you stop smoking, and he prescribed you an antidepressant, you might think he was implying that you were mentally ill. Given the stigma associated with psychiatric illness and psychiatric medicine, you might be less likely to take the drug. You might even say, "Geez, what the hell is this quack doing? I'm not depressed; I'm trying to stop smoking!" This way, if you check up on your doctor, you'll see he's prescribed you an antismoking drug, and all will be well.

Now, I'm not saying that you shouldn't take Zyban--it seems to work, which is what's important. I'm just saying that the placebo effect rocks.

Interesting point by whizkid...I hadn't thought of that possibility but it seems quite plausible (heck, my own insurance company covers antidepressants but not antismoking drugs). One problem, though: Wellbutrin (the antidepressant that most health insurance plans cover) was introduced before Zyban (the antismoking drug that most plans won't cover). Why then create Zyban at all, given that it would be less lucrative? (I'm not aware of any insurance programs that cover smoking-cessation drugs but not antidepressants). I suppose it's possible that some insurance companies might get upset that you're using a drug for something other than its express purpose, but off-label prescriptions are relatively common and it's possible to get an existing drug approved for a second purpose.

The reason for marketing the same drug under two different names may actually have nothing to do with psychology.

Many insurance companies do not cover prescription drugs to aid one in quitting smoking (which is silly considering that quitting improves your health and reduces their costs) but they do cover prescription drugs used against depression.

Using two different names for the same drug allows the insurance company to determine whether to pay for the prescription or not.

For that reason some smokers ask their doctor to prescribe Wellbutrin instead of Zyban. Of course, technically, they are committing insurance fraud.

Bupronin was released as a smoking-cessation aide under the name Zyban thanks to Wellbutrin's mostly unfounded reputation as seizure-inducing. GlaxoWellcome panicked somewhat after inconclusive studies claimed that Wellbutrin caused more seizures than other antidepressants; as it turns out, the seizures occurred among .4% of patients, most of them already seizure-prone. But the reputation stuck with many physicians, so Glaxo "re-branded" bupronin.

Many HMO's, including BlueCross BlueShield, do cover Zyban and other drugs to combat nicotine addiction. This makes sense financially, since non-smoking customers tend to have lower rates of costly diseases like lung cancer.

Trouble is, some of those companies only cover Zyban for a few months, as there's little point to suppressing nicotine cravings when one hasn't smoked in months. Wellbutrin, on the other hand, is often covered indefinitely, as bouts of depression can last a great while.

Zyban is supposed to take 2 weeks to "kick in"; during that period, you may wish to use some type of nicotine (the patch, the gum, the inhaler, or the new smokable nicotine sticks) to stave off cravings. I've been on Zyban (actually, Wellbutrin -- screw you, HMO) for 2 weeks and have had a very easy time not smoking--in fact, I ditched the patch the other day--but this may be the placebo effect. YMMV. Just take it on a full stomach, because even placebos can upset your tummy.

Oh, and if you plan on using non-medicinal (read: illegal) psychotropic drugs, please read the wu at Wellbutrin, and whatever else you can find, as there exist some bad combinations.