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Stop-Smoking Drug May Also Curb Problem Drinking
Posted 15 Feb 2012 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 15 – The quit-smoking drug Chantix may also help problem drinkers cut their alcohol consumption, a small new study suggests. Exactly how this drug curbs drinking is not fully understood, but its use may increase blood pressure, heart rate and feelings of sadness and nausea, thereby blunting the pleasurable effects of alcohol, the researchers said. "Chantix might reduce alcohol consumption by reducing overall enjoyment of the alcohol drinking experience," said study author Emma Childs, a research associate at the University of Chicago. "Chantix increased the unpleasant effects of alcohol, for example feeling drowsy and irritable, [and] participants also reported that they didn't like the alcohol effects as much," Childs said. Approved to help smokers quit in 2006, Chantix (varenicline) has its share of potential side effects. In July 2009, the U.S. Food and Drug ... Read more
Related support groups: Chantix, Alcohol Dependence, Alcoholism, Varenicline, Champix
Patches, Counseling, Persistence Can Help Smokers Quit
Posted 28 Nov 2011 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Nov. 28 – Quitting smoking isn't easy for most people but medication and counseling can help them succeed, according to the results of two new studies. In the first of the two reports published in the Nov. 28 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, a team led by Dr. Anne Joseph, co-leader of the Prevention & Etiology Research Program at the Masonic Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota, tried helping people by keeping in touch with them and reminding them to quit smoking. "We looked at a model that treated smoking as a chronic condition like high blood pressure or diabetes," Joseph said. "We know that using a combination of behavioral therapy and medication therapy, people do better than quitting on their own," she said. For the study, more than 400 smokers received counseling over the phone along with nicotine replacement therapy (such as patches, gums, lozenges) ... Read more
Related support groups: Wellbutrin, Smoking, Chantix, Bupropion, Wellbutrin XL, Wellbutrin SR, Smoking Cessation, Nicotine, Zyban, Nicorette, Nicoderm CQ, Budeprion, Nicotrol Inhaler, Commit, Budeprion XL
Smokeout Day: The Best Ways to Quit
Posted 16 Nov 2011 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 16 – As thousands of smokers across the United States try to kick their bad habit as part of the Great American Smokeout on Thursday, experts agree that a two-pronged strategy is the best bet for success. "The U.S. Public Health Service has twice done very extensive reviews of all the evidence, and [best] is a combination of counseling/advice, by pharmacists, physicians or quitlines, plus medicine," said Thomas Glynn, director of cancer science and trends and of international cancer control for the American Cancer Society. A lot has changed since 1976, when the first smokeout took place, Glynn noted. "People could smoke on airplanes and in restaurants; the person sitting next to you in the movie theater could be smoking. Two of every five people smoked; now it's one of five." Another difference: "Now, there are a number of ways that people can succeed, [including] seven ... Read more
Related support groups: Wellbutrin, Smoking, Chantix, Bupropion, Wellbutrin XL, Wellbutrin SR, Smoking Cessation, Zyban, Budeprion, Budeprion XL, Aplenzin, Varenicline, Zyban Advantage Pack, Champix, Budeprion SR
Chantix Unsuitable for First-Line Smoking Cessation Use
Posted 3 Nov 2011 by Drugs.com
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Nov. 2, 2011 – The poor safety profile of the smoking-cessation drug varenicline (Chantix™) makes it unsuitable for first-line use, according to a study published in the Nov. 2 edition of the journal PLoS One, an online publication of the Public Library of Science. Varenicline, which already carries a “black box warning” from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), showed a substantially increased risk of reported depression or suicidal behavior compared to other smoking-cessation treatments, according to researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, Harvard Medical School and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. The researchers found that 90 percent of all reported suicides related to smoking- cessation drugs since 1998 implicated varenicline, even though it was on the market only four years in the near ... Read more
Related support groups: Chantix, Smoking Cessation, Varenicline, Champix
FDA Medwatch Alert: Chantix (varenicline)
Posted 27 Oct 2011 by Drugs.com
Audience: Healthcare professionals, consumers [UPDATE 10/24/2011] FDA has reviewed the results from two FDA-sponsored epidemiological studies that evaluated the risk of neuropsychiatric adverse events associated with the smoking cessation drug Chantix (varenicline). Neither study found a difference in risk of neuropsychiatric hospitalizations between Chantix and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT; e.g., NicoDerm patches). However, both studies had a number of study design limitations, including only assessing neuropsychiatric events that resulted in hospitalization, and not having a large enough sample size to detect rare adverse events (see the 10/24/2011 Drug Safety Communication below for more information). Healthcare professionals and patients should continue to follow the recommendations in the physician label and the patient Medication Guide, and to monitor for neuropsychiatric ... Read more
Related support groups: Chantix, Varenicline, Champix
FDA Medwatch Alert: Chantix (varenicline): Label Change - Risk of Certain Cardiovascular Adverse Events
Posted 25 Jul 2011 by Drugs.com
[UPDATED 07/22/2011] FDA has approved an updated drug label for Chantix (varenicline) to include information about the efficacy and safety of the drug in two patient populations who may benefit greatly from giving up smoking—those with cardiovascular disease and those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The updated label now also includes alternative directions for patients to select a quit smoking date. [Posted 06/16/2011] ISSUE: FDA notified healthcare professionals and patients that the Prescribing Information for this drug product will be strengthened to inform the public that use of varenicline may be associated with a small, increased risk of certain cardiovascular adverse events in patients who have cardiovascular disease. This safety information will be added to the Warnings and Precautions section and the patient Medication Guide. BACKGROUND: FDA reviewed a ra ... Read more
Related support groups: Chantix, Varenicline, Champix
Studies Decipher How Anti-Smoking Drugs Work
Posted 3 Jan 2011 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Jan.3 – Two drugs that help people stop smoking – bupropion and varenicline – may change the way the brain reacts to seeing someone else smoke, new studies report. And that may be how they cut cravings. Bupropion (Wellbutrin, Zyban) is prescribed around the world to help people resist smoking cues. But it has not been clear how the drug does this. Using brain scans, Christopher S. Culbertson, of the University of California, Los Angeles, and his colleagues examined what happened in the brains of 30 smokers who took the drug or a placebo for eight weeks. The researchers gauged how much the participants craved cigarettes by asking them to respond after watching "neutral" cues that did not involve smoking or 45-second videos of actors and actresses smoking. Those who took the drug instead of the placebo reported less craving. They also showed less activity in areas of the brain ... Read more
Related support groups: Wellbutrin, Chantix, Bupropion, Wellbutrin XL, Wellbutrin SR, Smoking Cessation, Zyban, Budeprion, Budeprion XL, Aplenzin, Varenicline, Zyban Advantage Pack, Champix, Budeprion SR