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What is Chantix?
A new prescription medicine available from
Pfizer, Chantix™ (varenicline) has been shown
to improve the chances for quitting smoking over other options
such as Zyban®. Anyone who has tried to quit smoking
understands the great difficulty involved. Most smokers relapse
at least once for a substantial period of time before complete
cessation and more than 50% who try to quit smoking fail.
However, Pfizer has introduced medication that is 44% effective
in achieving smoking cessation, without any additional
pharmacological treatment.
Introduced in 2006, Chantix™ has been shown
to be more than 13% more effective than Zyban® and more than
30% more effective than no pharmacological treatment. If you
factor out the typical initial relapse, this medication may
have a success rate of greater than 66%.
Chantix™ is a medication that provides a
chemical that binds with nicotine receptors. Nicotine receptors
exist naturally and contribute to the addictive factors of
nicotine and therefore smoking. In particular, α4β2 subtype of
the (nicotine) acetylcholine receptor is partially blocked by
Chantix™. This serves as a substitute for the typical “fix”
your chemical neurological paths typically receive from
cigarettes. This can ease the many symptoms of withdrawal such
as:
-
Irritability
-
Anxiousness
-
Insomnia
-
Stress
-
Inability to Concentrate
-
Excessive Weight Gain
In addition to Chantix™, the following can
be helpful when trying to quit smoking:
-
Visualize cancer – every time you reach out for a
cigarette, imagine yourself suffering from cancer
and your family caring for you. This would be
painful enough vision, which would hopefully
dissuade you from lighting another cigarette.
-
Be ready – you will definitely experience
withdrawal symptoms. Research with the help of the
Internet and your doctor and be aware of what would
be following. Find out from your doctor how you
could manage the worst symptoms and be ready when
it manifests.
-
Enlist help – get the help of your family and
friends in quitting smoking. Request them to remind
you about your commitment every time you feel
tempted to go back to smoking. You may also ask
them not to smoke in front of you if they are still
smoking.
-
Team up – you could make a group of friends or
family (like spouse) and quit together. In this way
you could support and encourage each other while
the resolution to quit this habit is strengthened
by the members in your group.
-
Try supporting products – there are plenty of
supportive products in the market which would help
you quit such as nicotine patch, anti-smoking
chewing gum, etc. Go for the best and most popular
brands and use them as per the instructions. These
often handle withdrawal symptoms best.
-
Be strong – once you decide to quit, do not
entertain the idea of ‘if’ or ‘but’. Find out
alternatives every time you feel the “urge” and
gradually you would overcome it.
-
Drink plenty fluids – some reports say that
drinking citric fruit juice in the first few days
after you quit smoking helps a lot. If you do not
like juice, try drinking plenty of water. Have
something at hand to chew/ drink so you would not
thin of smoking.
-
Ban cigarettes – you need to ban cigarettes in your
home and office. Once you have quit do not allow
your friends smoke in front of you lest the
temptation be enough to lure you back.
-
Eat healthy food – check up with your doctor and
have a few changes in your diet. Try to eat healthy
yet tasty food to compensate the feeling of loss
when you think of cigarettes. Watch out however,
that you do not start overeating. Many people start
gaining weight after quitting smoking because they
feel hungry and the food tastes better.
-
Motivate yourself – start saving the money you were
spending on cigarettes (and on harming yourself) in
a piggy bank. Most people send on an average $20-30
per week. At the end of the month do something you
enjoy with this money – or give it to charity.
How Does Chantix™ Work?
Chanitx™ relieves many of the symptoms of
nicotine withdrawal…without nicotine
Smoking is injurious to health and it is
extremely addictive too. Smokers are not easy quitters and many
studies have shown nicotine to be more addicting to many other
substances such as: cocaine, heroine, and crack. The harder
smoker’s try to quit smoking the higher the addiction becomes.
However, if the smoker can seeks the counsel of a qualified
medical professional they can prescribe Chantix and increase
the smoker’s chances of success... Read More
How Should I Take Chantix?
You will need to decide on a date to quit smoking. This step is
very important because you will need to begin taking the
medication before that date. Choose a time when you don’t have
a lot of stressful events, like graduations and weddings, where
you are more likely to take up the bad habit again for the sake
of comfort. However, make sure you will still be busy--if you
are on vacation and relaxing, the cigarette may pop into your
mind more often than when you are active... Read More
What are the Side Effects of
Chantix?
With almost all medications there are side
effects. Some are not so noticeable, and others are dangerous
enough to be mitigated with other medications. It’s important
to know about the side effects of any medication before you
start taking it, and to contact your doctor immediately if they
occur, or if any other unexpected reactions occur.
CHANTIX, the 12-week prescription medication
designed to help smokers quit, also has side effects. Some are
as mentioned above--simply an annoyance--and others could
become problematic. Here are some of the side effects noted in
studies of the drug... Read More
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