Description of Chantix

Chantix has Varenicline as its active ingredient, and falls under the category of smoking cessation agents. You can buy Chantix in the form of oral tablets available in 0.5mg and 1mg strengths. Each tablet also contains inactive ingredients including magnesium stearate, colloidal silicon dioxide, croscarmellose sodium, anhydrous dibasic calcium phosphate and microcrystalline cellulose. Do not use this medicine if you have allergy to any of these ingredients.

Indications & Dosage of Chantix

Chantix is part of a complete counseling support and behavior modification program used for helping you quit smoking. The drug works in the patient’s brain by blocking pleasurable effects of smoking. By doing this, it helps in decreasing the patient’s desire to smoke. Stopping smoking decreases risks of developing a lung or heart disease, or even cancer.

For the first three days, you will be advised to take one Chantix 0.5mg tablet once a day. During the 4th to 7th days, you will have to take one Chantix 0.5mg tablet two times a day. From the 8th day to the end of treatment, your doctor will advise you to take one Chantix 1mg tablet two times a day. Take Chantix tablets after food, with a glass full of water.

Usually, the patients stop smoking after 12 weeks of starting the treatment. After that, an additional course for 12 weeks is recommended in order to increase long-term abstinence. If you have not successfully stopped smoking even after 12 weeks of starting the treatment, your doctor will identify and address the factors responsible for the failure and advise you to try again with Chantix.

Side Effects & Interactions of Chantix

Nausea, stomach pain, weakness, indigestion, tiredness, dry mouth, insomnia, vomiting, headache, unusual dreams, drowsiness, constipation, gas, changes in taste, difficulty sleeping or vomiting can commonly occur in patients using Chantix. These are mild side effects of the drug and subside on their own as your body adjusts to it. However, notify your doctor without fail if any of these worsen or persist.

Some serious side effects associated with Chantix include:

• Unusual pain in legs while walking
• Burning feeling in the toes or feet
• Jaw, left arm or chest pain
• Lightheadedness, shortness of breath
• Sudden weakness or numbness on one side of body
• Sudden severe headache, problems with balance, speech or vision, confusion
• Easy bruising or bleeding, cough with blood, blood in stools or urine, dark colored vomit
• Headache with severe peeling, blistering and red skin rash, throat soreness, fever

Before you buy Chantix, inform your doctor if you are using any other product for nicotine replacement, including gums, patches or nasal sprays, blood thinners (e.g. warfarin), theophylline or insulin.

Warnings & Precautions of Chantix

Inform your doctor beforehand if you have kidney disease, mental or mood disorder, blood vessel or heart disease, coronary artery disease or peripheral vascular disease.

This drug makes you dizzy, so you should avoid driving a vehicle or operating a machine during Chantix treatment. Also avoid alcohol intake, as it may make the condition worse.