PRINTNipping the habit in the butt
Pill promises miracle cure smokers have been waiting for
February 7, 2008 | 12:00 a.m. CST
There is no quick fix for smoking, but for those who want to take a Lucky Strike at quitting, Chantix might be the drug of choice.
Chantix, released to the market by Pfizer in 2006, is different from over-the-counter cessation aids because it does not release nicotine into the body. Instead, Chantix works on the nicotine receptor in the brain.
Missouri Tobacco Quit Line
800-784-8669
Columbia/Boone County Health Department Smoking Cessation Program
1005 W. Worley Street
874-7356
MU Student Health Center
1101 Hospital Drive
882-7481
“Nicotine will damage your brain cells because the little motors in your brain are working too fast,” says Dr. Dan Vinson, a family physician for the Department of Family and Community Medicine at University Hospital. “When you don’t smoke, you don’t have enough of those little motors turned on, and Chantix turns on those motors just enough. It helps them through the withdrawal.”
Other forms of kicking the butt include the prescription drug Zyban (better known as the antidepressant Wellbutrin) and nicotine replacement therapy. Zyban skips over the nicotine receptor and releases dopamine and norepinephrine, thereby creating the same elevated mood experienced while smoking — without the negative side effects.
In NRT, an individual gets a nicotine fix from gum or a patch rather than a cigarette. This helps the smoker gradually decrease the addiction and deal with withdrawal symptoms. NRT products are over-the-counter, unlike Zyban or Chantix, which must be prescribed by a doctor.
Pfizer claims patients taking Chantix over 12 weeks have a 44 percent success rate. Chantix users should notice a difference within three months. However, physicians recommend continuation of the pill for another three months to avoid relapse.
With such a comparatively high success rate, it is no surprise that there is quite a buzz about Chantix. But just because Pfizer makes lofty promises doesn’t mean these white pills are everyone’s superhero in Joe Camel’s cancer campaign.
Dr. Michelle Twitty, a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at MU, knows that patients dealing with difficult psychiatric issues such as schizophrenia have a propensity to smoke.
“Chantix has not been studied in people with schizophrenia,” Twitty says. “One of the big side-effect issues is that some patients with psychiatric illnesses are having exacerbation of their symptoms when taking Chantix.”
Twitty also says that people without mental illnesses have experienced depression or even felt suicidal while on Chantix. In response, Pfizer recently updated bottles of Chantix with warnings of behavioral changes and has added that patients should be under observation.
Many users of Chantix only recently heard of the drug. Pfizer originally ran unbranded ads that focused on quitting smoking in general, but the company started a more public campaign in 2007 that specifically focused on the drug.
“I’m assuming the company may feel better about advertising after the product has been on the market for a while,” Vinson says. “Sometimes surprisingly bad side effects occur once in every few thousand people, and even a large study of hundreds won’t pick that up.”
For those tired of the nicotine gum burn and antidepressants’ side effects (constipation and dry mouth), Chantix could be the key to finally getting that much-needed breath of fresh air.
