Question on Chantix

[spaky]

I keep seeing all the commercials that they flood tv with and I keep wondering about their success rate. In the ads they say that 44% of users were quit between weeks 9 and 12 compared to 18% on sugar pill. Now I'm wondering exactly what that means. If a person made it to week 9 but started back up in week 10 is that part of the 44%? Also is it really that great of an accomplishment for a drug to be a little over twice as effective as a sugar pill when it's known to cause suicidal thoughts and actions?

[Katmar]

Their figures are WAYYYYYYYYY overrated. The rate is much, much lower, but I don't know the exact amount. And their ads spend more time warning about side effects that actually promoting the drug.

[dgriego]

I tried it. It did nothing but make me have crazy dreams and I felt "wierd". No suicidal thoughts but just wierd.

I did not like it and felt like it did nothing for my nicotine cravings.

[kristin]

I researched this for one of my articles: http://www.associatedcontent.com/art...nic.html?cat=5

The success rate may be 44% during the 12 weeks using the drug, but the actual success rate is 1 in 4 after discontinuing the medication. That means a 25% success rate ie. 3 out of 4 people go back to smoking once they finish the treatment. And that's only of those of the 44% who actually complete treatment.

So, actually 1/4 of the 44% succeed after completing treatment, which actually gives it an 11% success rate. Definitely better than the 5-7% rate of gums and patches, but about the same or worse than cold turkey.

It had a very depressive and irritating affect on my husband. At the time, about 2 years ago, we hadn't heard about the side affects or that you shouldn't take it if you have any depression - which my husband suffers from mild depression and panic attacks. It was so bad, I told him to start smoking again! Then we found e-cigs. Those still aren't enough for him, he needs the other tobacco alkaloids, so he suppliments with snus.

The thing is, some people smoke, because they are unwittingly self-medicating for depression or other mild mental disorders. When they quit, they are basically stopping their meds and just nicotine isn't enough and Chantix is even worse.

[YKruss]

The success rate may be 44% during the 12 weeks using the drug, but the actual success rate is 1 in 4 after discontinuing the medication.

Does {1 in 4} means that actually it is 11% success rate?

Edit: Kristin beat me with the math

[jlmanno]

When I tried Chantix about 6 months ago all of the information(advertising) I read also tried to push that 40% success rate. I didn't succeed with it nor my wife due to the extreme nausea, but by then they had already gotten close to $400.00 over the 8 weeks we took it. According to my pcp and the actual clinical trials the number of smokers that stayed smoke free for 6 months dropped to under 30% and smoke free a year was around 18%. I do know a couple of smokers that used it and succeeded. There was a group of about 20 of us family and friends that tried different methods to quit. 2 succeeded with chantix, 5 of us now vaping and the rest still smoking, maybe new years or I can try converting them to vaping. That would be great. I've tired through the years everything available, ecigs were certainly my savior. The chantix advertising hype does include those quitters that went back to cigs in week 10 etc. Like my doc told me the chantix may help but it was going to have to be a mental thing along with the pills. He was amazed recently when we discussed my PV, i now have 2 of his staff vaping!

[jlmanno]

I failed to mention in my percentages as Kristin and Ykrus mention that it is the percentage of smokers that completed taking the medication not total people that tried it, the total success rate is more accurately around the <10% rate

[kristin]

Does {1 in 4} means that actually it is 11% success rate?

Edit: Kristin beat me with the math

Sorry, I edited and added to my post a few times, lol!

[spaky]

Wow! So does the 11% or less success rate mean that the sugar pill is just as effective? With that rate the ecig should be able to smoke chantix for helping people quit cigs.(pun intended)

[a2dcovert]

Chantix is an anti-depressant. I have seen the poor success rate in my friends that have tried it. It has had some radical side effects in some people. There is no way to know how it will react to you until you take it. There is a limited number of days that you can use this drug. Most of my friends were ok while taking the drug but returned to smoking soon after stopping the Chantix.