Stop Smoking Pills | Stop Smoking Pills – A Look At Chantix

Stop Smoking Pills – A Look At Chantix

There’s a new option on the market for smokers wanting to quit.  Varenicline is a stop-smoking pill, invented by Pfizer Inc. research chemist Jotham Coe., who happens to be a former 2 1/2 pack-a-day smoker.  Pfizer Inc. plans to make this pill available to the public under the brand name, Chantix.

Maybe you’re ready to quit because you want your old fitness level back?  Or maybe a smoker who’s scared of becoming another mortality statistic?  You are not alone.  There are an estimated 32 million smokers would like to quit (according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).  Quitting smoking isn’t easy. On average, only one in 20 smokers can quit without outside help.

Varenicline inhibits the pleasure of smoking and the withdrawal symptoms of quitting.  Varenicline acts similarly to nicotine in that it latches on to the same brain receptors as nicotine, which release of dopamine in the pleasure centers of the brain.  The drug also slows the release of dopamine, which cuts the craving to smoke that occurs when nicotine’s effect wears off.  Most other stop-smoking products involve nicotine-replacement therapies, sold over the counter, and by prescription, in gum, inhaler form, lozenge, nasal spray or patch. Coe describes it as “a shield”, which prevents you from having the lows of withdrawal and the highs of smoking.

Varenicline is the 2nd nicotine-free smoking cessation drug to gain FDA approval.  The first is Zyban, an anti-smoking drug, which was initially FDA approved as an antidepressant, under the name of bupropion, but then rebranded.  According to Pfizer, clinical trials show the drug’s effect is more pronounced in the short-term: 44% of patients quit smoking after a 12-week Chantix (formerly called Varenicline) treatment, compared to 30% of Zyban patients.

A smoker needs to take this pill is taken 2x a day for at least 12 weeks.  This pill only works after it has been taken for a week and a sufficient amount of the drug in his body.  Most smokers tend to take Varenicline 10 to 12 weeks longer in order to fully give up smoking.  This is because the 12 week period can be doubled, according to the FDA, in patients who successfully stop to increase the likelihood they will remain smoke-free.

Varenicline should only be taken with a doctor’s prescription.  Chantix is not to be taken with other stop smoking  products, unless by doctor’s instruction.  Varenicline’s should not be taken by women who are pregnant or breast-feeding.  They can also be harmful for people with a history of eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia.  Varenicline’s most common side effect is nausea.

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Tagged With Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chantix, dopamine, FDA approval, Pfizer, Vareniclinen

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