Chantix: The New Stop Smoking Drug

On May 11, 2006, the FDA cave its approval to the drug Pfizer's new stop smoking drug, varenicline tartrate, or Chantix. Chantix offers an alternative to those who have depended on nicotine-base patches and gums to wean them from their nicotine cravings so that they can give up cigarettes.

The flaw in using nicotine products to stop smoking has always been that the former smoker never had any way to be certain that he or she had actually broken the addiction to nicotine. If the addiction remains, the nicotine cravings will eventually resurface, as they do in the majority of people who have tired to permanently stop smoking.

How Chantix Works

The new stop smoking drug Chantix, however, takes a different approach to the problem of nicotine addiction. It does what the nicotine gum and patches do, without their nicotine. The new stop smoking drug stimulates the brain to release small doses of dopamine, which lessen the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal; and it blocks the nicotine receptors in your brain, so that if you do succumb to temptation and light up, the warm fuzzies you feel won't be nearly as warm or fuzzy as you are used to them being.

The theory behind the new stop smoking drug is that if the fun of cigarette smoking is gone, your desire to go out and drop your dollars on the weekly supply will go as well.

Chantix may be the new stop smoking drug, but it's not the only one. The anti-depressant Wellbutrin was found to help smokers kick their habits, and reincarnated as the anti-smoking drug Zyban. But Chantix, as a new stop smoking drug, offers an alternative for those smokers who do not like the idea of taking an anti-depressant. With smoking having become the enormous public health problem that it is, anything which can help people give up tobacco is welcome.

Chantix, in addition, has been shown to limit the weight gain which so often accompanies smokers' efforts to quit. The new stop smoking drug hasn't been available to the public long enough to judge its success as a long-term answer for smokers, but trials have shown that over 40% of those who used it for the initial twelve-week course of treatment succeeded in quitting, and between 14 and 24 percent remained smoke-free after a year.

How To Take Chantix

The new stop smoking drug is taken once a day in pill form for the first part of the twelve week treatment, and then increased to twice daily. Gradually increasing the dosage is designed to reduce the risk of side effects, which have included nausea and vomiting, sleeplessness and strange dreams, and a change in the taste of certain foods.

Because the new stop smoking drug has FDA-approval, you may find its cost covered by your health insurance.

It is also important to keep in mind that these stop smoking drugs are not magic pills that can instantly wipe out that habit which you've been stuck with for years. These stop smoking drugs can only help when you're ready to take the correct path and decide never to look back.