• Zyban is the slow-release form of the antidepressant bupropion - it is the first antidepressant licensed for smoking cessation
• unlike nicotine replacement therapy, treatment is started two weeks before quitting smoking
• one hypothesis suggests that Zyban might work in smoking cessation by increasing levels of noradrenaline and dopamine in the brain. This therefore counteracts the reductions in these neurochemicals that results from nicotine withdrawal (1)

The summary of product characteristics should be consulted before prescribing this drug.