Read more…Is champix safe – Wheretofindpedia

CIGARETTE pack warnings that remind smokers of the fatal consequences of their habit may actually make them smoke more as a way to cope with the inevitability of death.

A small study by psychologists from the United States, Switzerland and Germany showed that warnings unrelated to death, such as “smoking makes you unattractive” or “smoking brings you and the people around you severe damage”, were more effective in changing smokers’ attitudes towards their habit.

This was especially the case in people who smoked to boost their self-esteem, such as youth who took up the habit to impress or fit in with their peers and others who thought smoking increased their social value, the researchers said.

“In general, when smokers are faced with death-related anti-smoking messages on cigarette packs, they produce active coping attempts as reflected in their willingness to continue the risky smoking behaviour,” the study said.

Read more…Cigarette pack warnings make stressed smokers light up | News.com.au

His death is the second in the UK to be linked to the newly-licensed drug.

Mr Marshall’s widow Emma said he was prescribed the drug by his GP last August to help him quit his 20-a-day habit, but quickly went downhill, cutting himself off from his family and friends.

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“Then Jenna told me I’d tried to kill myself. She said her nine-year-old sister, Aynslie, had found me in the middle of the night hanging from the banisters with the pelmet from the curtains tied around my neck.”

Karen listened in horror as her daughter recalled how she had turned blue through lack of oxygen, and her heart stopped five times in the ambulance on the way to hospital.

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The medicines watchdog, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, issued the guidance when two patients had accidents after taking the drug Champix, which was approved for use on the NHS earlier this year.

Although the product’s packaging already warns of possible side effects of dizziness and sleepiness after taking the drug, manufacturers Pfizer has now been ordered to highlight stronger warnings since the accidents.

The drug works by reducing cravings for tobacco and lowering any enjoyment from smoking.

The new advice says patients should not drive, operate machinery or undertake any other potentially hazardous activities until it is clear how the drug affects their abilities.

In addition to nicotine replacement therapies, hypnotherapy, acupuncture and medications such as bupropion SR (Zyban), health-care professionals now have a new tool available to help smokers quit. Approved earlier this year, CHAMPIX is the first smoking cessation treatment to demonstrate a significant long-term relapse prevention effect. In clinical trials, people receiving a 12-week course of CHAMPIX nearly quadrupled the likelihood of quitting smoking compared with those taking placebo, and had nearly twice the likelihood of quitting than those patients taking burpropion, thus making CHAMPIX the most effective medicine created for smoking cessation to date.

It is also unique because it is not a nicotine replacement therapy and therefore, does not deliver any nicotine into the body. Instead it works by specifically targeting nicotinic receptors in the brain to reduce craving and withdrawal symptoms. No other treatment works this way.

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The medicines watchdog issued the guidance after two patients had accidents while driving when taking the drug Champix, which was approved for use on the NHS earlier this year.

Dizziness and sleepiness are recognised side effects of the drug, made by Pfizer. There are already warnings to this effect on the patient information leaflet, but stronger warnings have been ordered since the crashes were reported to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

Read more….Smokers told not to drive while using Champix – Telegraph

Champix is the first drug of its kind that reduces the intensity of nicotine cravings.

It also claims to reduce the pleasure from cigarettes if patients have a relapse.

But while the so-called wonder drug has helped thousands overseas to kick the habit, some patients have reported falling asleep at the wheel while on it.

The UKs medicine watchdog issued a warning last week after two patients had car accidents. It was not known whether the medicine caused the crashes, but it prompted authorities to recommend stronger warnings of possible side affects.

Developed by Pfizer, which makes the anti-impotence drug Viagra, the pill targets the same “receptors” in the brain as nicotine. Unlike the anti-smoking drug, Zyban, an antidepressant that lessens the desire to smoke again, Champix claims to block cravings and reduce withdrawal symptoms.

The Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods gave it approval in February and it is expected to be available from December.

The prescription tablets have to be taken for at least 12 weeks.

Action On Smoking and Health ASH chief executive Anne Jones said the fact the drug took away the enjoyment of a cigarette if a person had a relapse was encouraging.

Source: Smokers quit with new drug | Herald Sun