Quitting a habit like smoking can be an immensely difficult ordeal. It can take a lot of will power, determination and a stern resolution to kick this habit. The sad part is a majority of people who smoke know that smoking leads to all kinds of cancers, cardiovascular complications, liver problems, etc. But still, few really commit themselves to permanently quit smoking.
On the other hand, what is funnier is the fact that big pharmaceutical companies encourage smokers to use their revolutionary nicotine replacement drugs and therapies to quit the habit. It is important to understand that you cannot beat nicotine with nicotine. Champix is a similar nicotine replacement medication, a product of Pfizer pharmaceuticals. The drug is made with varenicline, which is a nicotinic receptor.
Back in September, 2006, Pfizer announced that its revolutionary quit smoking drug, Champix was approved by the European Commission. In a press release that followed, the pharmaceutical giant boasted that 1 out 5 individuals that were chosen for the 12 week Champix trial remained smoke free after 1 year.
However, the mystery here is the fact whether drug’s (not too shabby 1 in 5) quit smoking success rate can directly be related to its side effects. Moreover, the clinical trials conducted by Pfizer also included counseling sessions and the participants were also given various nicotine replacement products – the 12 week Champix course was what followed everything.
Plus, it is also important to understand that more than 1000 smokers who had a long history of failing to quit smoking were denied participation. Why? Well, that is because Champix would have likely failed on them. The clinical trial conducted by the pharmaceutical company, in the eyes of many, was nothing more than a façade to sell its product and rake in billions in annual revenue.
Alright so Pfizer was looking to attach full credit for the outcome of its 5 varenicline trials to its (then) newly launched nicotine replacement drug (Champix). It wanted smokers to blindly put their faith in the drug, telling them that every 1 in 5 individual who purchased Champix can become smoke free in a year. However, if there is something more smoking cessation sciences and pharmacology has taught people, it is the fact that clinical studies, research, trials, whatever you call it, conducted by big pharmaceutical companies are really just an elaborate drama, engineered to make you believe that their drugs and products work – in other words, they are always set up for victory.
Side Effects of Champix
No matter what Pfizer claims, you have to understand that drugs and medications used for quitting smoking is and will never be a good idea. For example, mentioned below are is a long list of common and less-common side effects of Champix and why you should stay away from the drug:
Common Side Effects:
- Bloated or full feeling
- Difficulty passing bowel
- dry mouth
- General feeling of discomfort or illness
- Frequent headaches
- Fatigue and exhaustion
- Loss of taste
- Nausea
- Passing gas
- Stomach pain
- Sleep deprivation
- Tiredness or weakness
Dangerous but Less Common Adverse Effects
- Difficult or labored breathing
- Hyperventilation
- Tightness in the chest
Sadly, even with these proven side effects, Pfizer still markets this nicotine replacement drug and claims that a 12-week Champix course had generated a 44% success rate. That is primarily because of the fact that the total time period of the clinical trial was also 3 months. It is important to understand that the nicotine replacement drug as a 24-hour half-life elimination, which means that the individuals that participated in the trials had in depth counseling and were under the influence of Champix.
If an individual is addicted to smoking and needs nicotine to placate and appease his dopamine pathway disorder – why would you encourage him to take a drug (another potent chemical) to satisfy his urge for smoking nicotine? The medicine does not suppress the urge to smoke; it replaces it with the desire to have the medication every time you feel like smoking. This type of treatment can never help you quit smoking permanently and can in turn get you addicted on it, increasing the chances of experiencing adverse health consequences. You are trading one bad thing with another potentially bad thing.
Varenicline – What is the Chemical Lime?
After the drug was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, the federal organization also approved the drug to be sold on prescription – but it the drug had to be sold under a different name, which is Chantix. Champix according to the FDA is a boastful name, and from marketing perspectives the name Champix implies or overstates the effects of the nicotine replacement drug, which means the efficacy of the drug stated by the pharmaceuticals can come under scrutiny.
So, the drug is sold under the name Chantix, but only in the US. It is sold as Champix all around the world. Did you know that the total global revenue Pfizer raked in back in 2010 from Champix sales amounted to $755 million? Out of this figure, $330 million worth of revenue was generated in the US alone.
Varenicline for some can have a potential effect – helping in decreasing the need to smoke, especially for the people who are rush-sensed while they don’t stop smoking in the first week of taking Chantix. However, it is also important to understand that the potential health risks of using Chantix can outweigh any hope for quitting smoking using this drug. There are more than 200 different types of side effects associated with using Chantix, and all of them are listed on Pfizer’s information sheer regarding the product.
What is even funnier is the fact that before 2008, the list of potential side effects on Pfizer’s information sheet included just a handful of medical conditions – which included vomiting, nausea, sleeplessness, constipation, etc. These were the only ‘common’ side effects listed back then. The information sheet clearly failed to warn smokers of the more serious and debilitating side effects such as hyperventilation, cardiovascular complications, liver problems, etc. But the pharmaceutical changed its information sheet and included the major health concerns, which also included psychotic events, kidney failure, suicidal thoughts, hallucinations, arthritis, joint pain, etc.
Varenicline is the most potent chemical used in manufacturing Chantix, which is responsible for triggering 30% to 60% of the total dopamine released in your brain that smoking a cigarette would have resulted in if you were on precisely on the same acetylcholine receptors. Taking varenicline pills on a regular basis means that the medication will take over these receptors for 24 hours every day.
One individual stated that using Chantix wasn’t able to generate a ‘relief sensation’, and compared taking Chantix to smoking a carrot. This is essentially why Pfizer stated that the clinical trials were blind, which means that the individuals participating in the study could not possibly differentiate which group of participants were randomized to using Chantix and which ones were given placebos – which is again something very mysterious.
For a lot of individuals, it isn’t about guessing the fact that an un-natural chemical is in their brains, functioning 24 hours a day. According a research posted in 2011, the study identified that more than 75% of people who were on Chantix stated they knew something was different – and this was before they even attempted to quit smoking.
Chantix users do a chance of experiencing the side effects of using Chantix; however, these chances are a bit lower than those individuals that are on nicotine replacement products such as nicotine lozenges, gum, spray and patch. Individuals on Chantix may have to face some form back-end withdrawals symptoms and complications as soon as they quit using Chantix and let their brain adjust to normal dopamine pathway stimulation.
In its hurry to generate millions in revenue every year, Pfizer still does not adequately warn Chantix users that more than half of the participants in the Chantix clinical study supervised by Pfizer, who were on a 12 week course, which also included counseling, failed to quit smoking and relapsed – and they relapsed not even a full year after they were stopped using Chantix.
While it is a truism that Pfizer has responsibly explained the benefits of using Chantix and how varenicline effectively inhibits nicotine-type acetylcholine receptors, which basically means that the drug shields new receptors in the brain to be taken over by nicotine – Pfizer is no way has ever explained what happen when a cessation smoker will relapse and inhale a big puff of nicotine once they stop using Chantix.
To workaround this fact, which Pfizer does not and will not disclose, what the pharmaceutical company does is further markets the subject of continually smoking while on varenicline, and it takes this topic far too casually. They always sugar coat their dangerous slip-up, creating the factor of plausible deniability.
What it is important for you to understand is the fact that once you are off of Chantix (varenicline use), even taking one deep drag can cause more than 50% of your brain’s dopamine receptors to be overrun by nicotine. And what this does is undo the effects of varenicline completely; it is as if you were never on Chantix. Just smoking a single cigarette can flush all the money you have spent on Chantix down the toilet.
EaseQuit
Big pharmaceuticals have been luring smoking cessation quitter to use their products for decades now. People trying to quit have been spending thousands of dollars on quit smoking drugs and nicotine replacement therapy products to no avail at all. It is important to open your eyes to the truth. You have to understand that these products will never help you rid of this nasty habit.
It takes will power and determination to quit smoking for good, and what these products do is just barely scratch the surface of the time and effort it takes to completely quit smoking and detoxifying your body. This is where EaseQuit comes in – a complete and non-invasive treatment to help you kick this habit in just a matter of days.
An age old method of treating transformed via technological innovations and advancements – EaseQuit consists of a pair of bioactive magnets, which you place on the inside and the outside of your ears. The magnets are designed to stimulate sensitive nerve endings located inside your ear to stimulate the same sort of feeling you get whenever your smoke a cigarette.
When you smoke, your mind releases dopamine, a chemical that is produced inside the brain, and is responsible for giving you a natural high. What this essentially means is when you use EaseQuit magnets, you don’t have to use any FDA approved nicotine replacement drug or product to give you that same sort of satisfaction (with the nicotine involved).
On top of that the EaseQuit kit is a one-time purchase, the magnets are designed to never lose their efficacy and function, which means you will not have to waste thousands in buying nicotine medications, nicotine patches, gum or spray every year. This is perhaps one of the best reasons to try EaseQuit; furthermore, the product also comes with a solid money-back guarantee, which means if you aren’t satisfied with the performance of the product, you can always return it and get your money back without any strings attached.
Another really awesome thing about EaseQuit is the fact that it has no side effects, which is unlike any other quit smoking therapy available. So, it is 100% safe, cost-effective, long-term and comes with a money-back guarantee. These are qualities that you will never ever find in any other quit smoking method or therapy.
All you have to do is place the tiny magnets; one inside the ear and the outside the ear, let them stimulate your nerve endings a couple of hours every day and you won’t even think about smoking a cigarette after just a couple of days.