Sunday, November 23, 2008

Chantix, is it really a magic pill?

By Chris James

Chantix has been found to be one medication that has finally helped people to quit smoking when others have failed. Working like a nicotine blocker in the brain, it attaches itself to the nicotine receptors and blocks its absorption. And because there are fewer feel good receptors that the nicotine can freely attach itself to, it lessens the desire you have for a cigarette.

Using this method has helped many people quit without difficulty. Not only that, it has helped a lot of them quit without severe withdrawal symptoms. Even long term, multiple pack a day smokers have found themselves to be successful. One thing you need to do however, is first check to see if your insurance company will cover the cost as many nowadays are reluctant to pay for smoking cessation products.

Since Chantix contains no nicotine, it is not necessary to quit smoking when you begin the medication. You will receive a starter pack that gradually builds up the medication in your system over the next two weeks.

With this in mind, it is important that you pick a day to quit somewhere towards the end of the two weeks, however there have been some who actually extend this up to three weeks, which allows the medication in their system to build up even further.

Several side effects to Chantix have been recorded. Naturally they vary from person to person, but are normally short-lived. These effects can be anything from headaches, excessive gas, nausea or in some notable cases, extremely vivid dreams.

The support with Chantix is also quite good with a free online system that begins even before you start to take your medication. This includes daily e-mails updates and stop smoking projects designed to help keep your efforts going in the right direction.

Chantix is not for everybody and although it is a very promising medication, some people have more of the psychological addiction to nicotine, than a physical one. In the latter case Chantix could work very well and does offer some behavioral support. However if you have more of the psychological addiction to nicotine Chantax may not be the right medication for you and your doctor may recommend a different medication better suited to your needs.

So is Chantix a magic pill? Not even close. But then again, nothing is. It is only with a strong desire to quit smoking to any of the stop smoking aids work. For without the desire there is nothing that is going to MAKE us quit. We have to make that decision on our own. - 15634

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