Varenicline: A Cure for Smoking Or a Smokescreen?
by Sara C
www.schmeg.com
Posted Feb 4th 2007,
Read 1660 times since then. Similar ArticlesQuitting: A Former Smoker's Story Every time I attempted to stop smoking was a valuable rehearsal, and every method I tried brought me that much closer to finding what ultimately worked for me. Remember this, and keep trying. You will find YOUR best way to quitting smoking. Every time you stop and start again is one time closer to the final quit. If that hardly seems like a… Vitamins And Smoking Cessation If you have recently stop smoking, or if you are getting ready to embark on a smoking cessation program – congratulations! You have taken the first steps to improved health and a longer, happier life. Years of smoking can take quite a toll on your physiology and appearance. Among other things, excessive smoking causes the production of harmful… Acupuncture Stop Smoking Therapy Acupuncture stop smoking therapy offers real solid hope to countless smokers who are trying to stop smoking. It was discovered via the traditional Chinese acupuncture practices which exists long ago. Acupuncture is the application of needles on specific chi points of a human’s body. Each chi point or a combination of chi points correspond to… If I Can Stop Smoking so Can You I have been smoking for over 15 years now and have stop again for who knows how many times. I have gone through life using smoking for various reasons and really never understood the effects smoking was having on my health. I have given up vices before but nothing has challenged me as much as quitting smoking. Each time I stop smoking and started… Debunking the Glamour of Smoking The anti-smoking lobby often make a crucial mistake in their campaigning.: they lose sight of their target audience - children - and go after established smokers instead. Let me tell you right now that attempting to turn the screw on a smoker is the most counter-productive attitude you can adopt. As a former smoker, I can fully empathise with the…
One of the holy grails of the pharmaceutical industry is to design a drug that would cure or, otherwise significantly reduce nicotine cravings i.e. cure smoking. There are 48 million smokers in the U.S. and 45 million of them would, surely, give anything to quit. So, to conquer that market would mean immeasurable wealth to the victor. With this in mind, there is a potential blockbuster drug currently making its way through the regulatory hurdles that shows promise: Varenicline.
There are as many treatments for smoking as there are brands of cigarettes. These include patches, gums, lozenges, hypnosis, acupuncture and even an anti-depressant, Zyban. Zyban wasn't originally developed as a smoking cessation drug but as a treatment for depression. A side effect was observed- people on this drug smoked less. It has been moderately successful.
Most over-the-counter treatments involve the slow weaning of the patient from nicotine, while this new drug, Varenicline, attempts to block the receptors in the brain that trigger the cravings in the first place. A novel solution, it seems, to a perplexing problem.
As a smoker and having tried everything, I am currently most satisfied with my Commit lozenges. Ultimately though, these lozenges merely replace smoking as my preferred method of ingesting nicotine - something my lungs, but not my pocketbook are quite appreciative of. Now, I would have no problem continuing with these lozenges, but they are quite expensive and do nothing to end my addiction. I was hoping that this new drug, Varenicline, would allow me to kick the habit for good.
Well, the study results are in and here they are:
- 22% - smoking abstinence rate after 1 year of patients given Varenicline
- 16% - smoking abstinence rate after 1 year of patients given Zyban
- 8% - smoking abstinence rate after 1 year of patients given a placebo
Hardly earth shattering numbers was my initial response. There barely seems a difference between Zyban and Varenicline – 1 out of 6 quitting for Zyban vs. 1 out of 5 for Varenicline. It’s too early to draw any conclusions, but it does initially appear, that we might have to wait awhile longer for the elusive smoking cure to be as simple as swallowing a pill.
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