Rimonabant is aimed at helping patients lose weight and quit smoking. Rimonabant is the first of a new class of drugs targeting the endocannabiniod system, which helps to regulate pleasure, relaxation, and pain tolerance.
Rimonabant works on the principle of targeting the CB-1 receptors, found in the Endo- cannabinoid (EC) system. These receptors control food and tobacco intake in the body. When these receptors are blocked, your appetite tends to reduce. As a result you eat less than your normal appetite and therefore you lose weight. It shows maximum results when used in addition with a low calorie diet and regular work out.
Rimonabant in clinical test also found to be effective in assisting some smokers to quit smoking. There is a direct relation between obesity and increased risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes and possibly certain cancers, such as breast and colorectal cancer. Increases in body weight lead to changes in blood lipid and cholesterol levels, predisposing to increased risk of atherosclerosis.
Smoking is one of the biggest causes of crippling and fatal diseases across the world. Today every third male adult in the world is a smoker and the addiction kills one in every ten adults globally. This means nearly four million deaths annually. It this is not reason enough to quit smoking, what else can be?
Smoking is the biggest cause of deaths in the developed and developing countries and is responsible for more deaths every year than most other causes combined. You can get a better idea of smoking deaths from the fact that smoking kills a man every 8 seconds. If you quit smoking you can save yourself from a host of dangerous and deadly disease including:
• Heart disease
• Stroke
• Chronic lung disease
• Cancer of the lungs, larynx, esophagus, mouth, and bladder
• Cancer of the cervix, pancreas, and kidneys
• Tuberculosis
It is very important that you quit smoking at the right time and early enough if you wish to secure your chances of a full, healthy and long life. The longer you smoke the more number of years you cut off from your life. Are you aware you lose 11 minutes of your life for every cigarette you smoke? So if you smoke 20 cigarettes a day you are effectively shortening your life by nearly four hours. Research has found smoking related diseases can shorten life expectancy of smokers by as many as 14 years.
It is not easy to quit smoking and if you suddenly decide to go off cigarettes you might have to face some unpleasant side effects that come from withdrawal. However there are now hundreds of resources available to help those who wish to quit smoking. These resources can be in the form of your local health authority or several international agencies that provide online help for smoking cessation.
There is some indication from tests that Rimonabant may help patients quit smoking, as well as assist in preventing weight gain that frequently accompanies successful smoking cessation, but Rimonabant is not yet approved as smoking cessation drugs.