Late last week the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a nicotine free drug to aid folks in kicking the smoking habit.

With new statistics coming out daily from around the world showing the huge health impact smoking is having on society it is welcome news.

The new drug named Chantix acts at the same part of the brain as nicotine and may have a superior rate of smoking cessation compared to the most widely approved smoking cessation product,  Zyban.

In 12-week clinical trials, 44 percent of patients taking Chantix had quit smoking after four weeks, compared with 30 percent taking Zyban and 17 percent taking a placebo, said Dr. Curt Rosebraugh, the FDA’s deputy director for the Office of Drug Evaluation.