subject: Chantix - Wonder Drug Or Suicide Instigator? [print this page] Author: Action Chiropractic Author: Action Chiropractic
If you watch any TV commercials at all, you've probably seen the latest commercial for Chatix, a pharmaceutical that's supposed to help people stop smoking. Has it seemed to be a bit longer than most other commercials?
That's because it is. Chantix has been touted as a drug that can help people who have smoked for years quit smoking. However, it's got a laundry list of potential problems that, in today's world, the commercial has to mention. The problems themselves take almost a minute.
And what are these potential problems? Based on the commercial itself, one might have a change in behavior, hostility, agitation, depression, and suicidal thoughts or actions. You might even get these symptoms after you stop taking the drug. Then they say that if you notice any of these symptoms, including anxiety, panic attacks, aggression, anger, mania, abnormal sensations (whatever that means), hallucinations, paranoia, or confusion, stop taking the drug and contact your physician. I'm thinking if you had most of these that you wouldn't notice it all that much without someone else's help.
And that's not all of it. That's only the psychiatric part. The rest includes skin reactions that might be life threatening, like a rash, swelling, or peeling skin. You could develop allergic reactions that could be life threatening including swelling of the face, mouth or throat as well. Then we have what they term are the most common side effects, which are nausea, sleep problems, constipation, gas, vivid or strange dreams, or vomiting.
Frankly, although the potential effects of smoking are emphysema or lung cancer, some of what you see above could kill you quicker. And, in a few cases, those patients who have gone into rages or other mental issues have assaulted and killed others, as well as themselves; that's scary.
What Chantix is supposed to do is give the brain the same feeling of euphoria that nicotine does in stimulating dopamine, only without the dopamine, which can be addicting because it doesn't last long, which is what keeps people smoking. The basic idea of treatment is to keep the patient on it at least 12 weeks, add counseling, and then see how it's all working out.
Obviously people have to weigh just how severe they believe their smoking habit is before embarking on something this dangerous. The thing is that if you already have some potential symptoms without realizing it, this could change your life in a bad way, and it could last forever. Or it could cure you of the smoking habit and give you a chance to live a better, safer life. The choice isn't an easy one.About the Author:
