From the Bangkok Post (Thailand):

An anti-depressant drug, proved to be effective in tackling smoking addiction, will be offered under the universal healthcare scheme to encourage long-term smokers to quit the habit.

Prateep Tanakitcharoen, deputy secretary-general of the National Health Security Office, said Nortriptyline would be added to the national drug list to help reduce the cost of treating smoking-related illnesses. It will be offered to patients under the scheme to help them quit smoking.

Katha Bunditananukul, president of Thai Pharmacy Network for Tobacco Control, said Nortriptyline had more side-effects than newer drugs, including dry mouth and throat, and headaches. However, the newer ones were also more expensive.

Tests over 20 years had shown that the drug could help tackle long-term smoking addiction.

Many domestic and international studies show a strong link between depression and smoking.

He believed making Nortriptyline - a second generation tricyclic anti-depressant marketed under the trade names Sensoval, Aventyl, Pamelor, Allegron and Nortrilen - available under the universal healthcare scheme would strengthen tobacco control efforts.