Chantix

- the first prescription medication for smoking cessation .

Published on September 8, 2006 By know-chantix In Health & Medicine

Tobacco is one of the strongest cancer-causing agents and has been estimated to account for about 30% of cancer deaths in the United States. Smoking increases the risk of many types of cancer including, cancers of the lung, throat, mouth, pancreas, kidney, bladder, cervix, and others.
Studies have revealed that almost 26% of adult men and 22% of adult women are smokers at any given time. Cigarette smoking is more common in American Indians/Alaska Natives. Lung cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women.

Smoking cessation is the effort to stop smoking tobacco products. With nicotine an addictive substance, many people find it hard to stop smoking without help. Various approaches are available, both psychological and pharmacological, although success rates are relatively low.

According to scientist, chantix will also help smokers stay away from smoking months after quitting. It greatly decreases smoker's likelihood of relapse in the first six months after quitting. The result is encouraging, says experts, as smoking have little that's pharmacologically useful in helping them to quit. However, then warn that much of the hype around the new drug may be unwarranted, because Chantix remains a far-from-perfect means of quitting smoking.

In clinical trials, the most common adverse effects of Chantix were nausea, headache, vomiting, flatulence (gas), insomnia, abnormal dreams, and dysgeusia (change in taste perception).

CHANTIX offers an important advance in smoking cessation. When a smoker takes Chantix as part of their efforts to quit, it is believed that the medication binds to the same receptors to which nicotine would bind, but Chantix appears to activate the receptors to a much lesser extent. Also, if a person does smoke while taking Chantix, Chantix may block the nicotine from binding and lessen nicotine's effects.

The GETQUIT Support Plan was developed using principles of cognitive therapy with input from smoking cessation experts to help educate patients about managing cravings and behavioral triggers. It will be available at no additional cost to Chantix patients.

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