Pharmaceutical solutions as stop smoking methods have been popular for a long time and include the nicotine patch, nicotine gum, or Wellbutrin.
What new Stop Smoking Methods are Available?
A relatively new drug, Chantix is having a profound effect on the smoking population in this country. Most of my patients say using Chantix is the easiest and most effective way to come off cigarettes or wet tobacco.
In fact, Chantix is starting to dent the business of the stop-smoking clinics because results are so much more effective than other methods. I noticed a stop-smoking clinic in a strip shopping center near my office has closed. It reminds me of what happened to the impotence clinics when Viagra came out—most clinics closed.
Stay Informed About New Stop Smoking Methods
Chantix has been out over a year but many people don’t even know about it yet. As a professional psychiatrist, I strive to keep abreast of any new forms of treatment and pass that information along to my patients.
A month ago, I had a patient that I was treating for depression. She felt well informed about how to quit smoking and had tried numerous ways to come off cigarettes over the years. When I mentioned Chantix, she’d never heard of it. She is now celebrating over a month of abstinence on Chantix and is delighted with how easy it was.
Will New Stop Smoking Methods Work for You?
Of course, not everyone is successful with Chantix. Many patients just don’t know how to quit smoking. Others are so discouraged from so many previous failures that they are reluctant to even try another method.
There is usually some clinical reason for failure to quit smoking that can be uncovered if the patient is willing to explore it with me. Some of the most common hurdles are other psychiatric conditions. When these conditions are defined and treated, patients are often successful with Chantix.
The most common obstacles to successfully quitting smoke are depression, anxiety, and/or other co-occurring substance abuse or dependence, such as alcohol, Xanax, or cocaine addictions. (Cigarette smoking is substance dependence. If a person becomes dependent on one substance, they are at high risk of becoming addicted to another substance as well). Untreated ADHD and bipolar disorder are also common contributors. When these conditions are successfully relieved with proper medication, stop smoking success rates improve significantly.
Possible side effects include nausea, headache, and irritability. Rare reports of violence may be related to associated alcohol or drug abuse.
Call 770-458-0007 or make an appointment to discuss using Chantix as a method to stop smoking and/or explore with you what treatable problem may be the root cause of your failure to stop smoking.
