Friday, January 11, 2008

Chantex to help Quit Smoking

Chantex has been a big hit on the market for promoting to help people quit smoking.
Chantex also known as varenicline tartrate was approved on May 11, 2006 by the U.S FDA as the first new prescription medication for smoking cessation. The FDA has not approved of a similar product in the last ten years. Chantex was discovered and developed by Pfizer, Inc. headquartered in New York. It is the fourth new medicine by Pfizer to receive FDA approval in 2006.

Chantex is indeed a good news for the smokers or their loved ones who wish for them to quit. Pfizer scientists researched a specific molecule for smoking cessation that target the nicotine receptor. Chantex was approved based on six clinical trials involving more than 3,500 cigarette smokers. Chantex acts on the brain in areas affected by smoking in two ways: by providing some of the effects of nicotine to ease withdrawal symptoms and by blocking the effects of nicotine if smoking is resumed.

Chantex is not available over the counter as it is a prescription medicine. It is therefore only available if you have a doctor's prescription. Chantex comes in the form of a tablet, a 1mg table (blue) and a .5mg tablet (white). Your doctor will usually prescribe Chantex to you consecutively during a 12-week regimen. It is possible to have an additional 12-week regimen prescribed to you is to insure long-term success. The course of the treatment starts 7 days before you actually quit smoking. You would be given a 7-day treatment of Chantex, to be taken after meals with a full glass of water.

Unfortunately with any medication, there will be side effects. And some of the common ones are nausea, headache, vomiting, gas, insomnia, abnormal dreams and problems with taste.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Side Effects of Taking Chantex

As with any drug, side effects are inevitable. In the case of Chantex, the side effects are generally well tolerated.

Some individuals will experience gastrointestinal side effects of which include: nausea, abdominal pain, gas, dyspepsia, vomiting, constipation, acid reflux, and dry mouth. Otherindividuals might experience problems with sleep disorders such as insomnia, abnormal dreams and nightmares. Some of the other side effects are headache, somnolence, and lethargy, fatigue, malaise, and asthenia. It was reported that some people on Chantex might have an increased or decreased appetite and even anorexia. Other side effects involved skin rash and respiratory disorders.

More serious, but less common were life threatening side affects which may or may not require medical attention depending on the severity of symptoms and life threatening nature. Those include, but are not limited to, blood and lymphatic system disorders (anemia), cardiac disorders (chest pain, heart arrhythmia, heart palpitations and rapid heartbeat, stroke, atrial fibrillation, and coronary heart disease), ear disorders (tinnitus, vertigo), thyroid gland disorders, gastrointestinal disorders (diarrhea, gingivitis, gastritis, esophagitis, gastric ulcer), immune systems disorders, metabolism disorder (diabetes), musculoskeletal (back pain, muscle cramps, musculoskeletal pain, arthritis, osteoporosis), nervous system disorders (disturbance in attention, dizziness, amnesia, migraine, restless leg syndrome, tremor), psychiatric disorders (anxety depression, irritability, restlessness, mood swings, agitation, decreased libido). There is a low occurrence of renal and urinary disorders, reproductive disorders (menstrual disorder, erectile dysfunction), vascular disorders (hot flush, hypertension, hypotension), respiratory disorders, and skin disorders (acne, dermatitis, dry skin, eczema, psoriasis).