John and I are not the only people hearing about serious side effects from Chantix/Champix. Here is a link John found yesterday to a response board with numerous complaints:
http://cbs11tv.com/local/local_story_267233942.html
Every now and then both John and I get emails from people who are angry that we have put up information that gives people warnings about potential issues with the efficacy and safety of the drug. We also get emails from people who were wondering why they were not aware of some of the problems that the drug has caused them before they started taking it.
I am sure that there are people who stop the drug once the effects become pronounced who simply throw away their quits. This I think is a real mistake. As I said above in the commentary I first wrote regarding Zyban when it was introduced:
"I am troubled when I see people report on the board that they can’t quit smoking because they can’t tolerate the medication. They are feeling handicapped before they start to quit and they are giving the drug too much credit. Again, you can quit with it if it is tolerable and you and your doctor feels it is safe for you to use. You can quit without it too if you really want to stop and are willing to put in the effort it takes to quit. That is the truth in both cases though, with Zyban or without. Your quit will succeed either way if you always understand the importance of knowing to never take another puff!"
I have the same belief about Chantix now. People who stop taking it should not automatically think that they have lost their ability to quit. They can maintain the quit that they started while on the drug, or even quit smoking after stopping the drug if they had not done so earlier, and sustain that quit over the long-term if they simply make and stick to a personal commitment to never take another puff.
Joel
Also from above, comments directly related to Chantix/Champix use:
I should also note, both John and I are getting frequent emails from people regarding Chantix. There are many that praise the product as having helped people get various time periods under their belt smoke free, but the vast majority of these emails are from people who are still using the medication. We don't get many from people who got off the medication without problems and maintained their smoke free status. Also particularly troubling to us is the number of emails we are getting from people with side effects, some quite severe to using the medication. One just sent us a link to an Internet board that had lots of people complaining of symptoms that were lasting a whole lot longer than the few days of withdrawal people may get when just going cold turkey. That has always been something I have seen as a problem with quit smoking aids out there, they either prolong the withdrawal period by keeping nicotine in the system or have their own side effects that cause people to experience physical complaints and symptoms much longer than people who simply go cold turkey. Cold turkey "may be" harder the first few days but physically, symptoms ease up quickly and it is a really safe method to quit. Here is the link to another string we have had previously at AskJoel that addresses this safety issue: "Isn't quitting cold turkey too dangerous?"
I am going to attach a video here that talks about my first encounter with a person using NRT in the form of nicotine gum in the early 1980's. From numerous emails and from observing comments written on different boards, I am starting to get a sense that people's experience with Chantix is often the same as it is with NRT, that the drug is simply postponing the readjustments that a person often goes through when they first quit smoking. | Video Title | Dial-Up | HS/BB | Audio | Length | Added | | My first encounter with NRT | 3.99mb | 16.1mb | 2.13mb | 14:37 | 11/16/06 | | | | |
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