WhyQuit

WhyQuit reports that in surveys and scientific studies, more people were found to have successfully quit smoking long term using the cold turkey method than nicotine replacement therapies (NRT). NRT delivers smokeless nicotine to the user through chewing gum, lozenges, patches, and nasal sprays. NRT manufacturers typically tout their products as effective ways to ease nicotine withdrawal symptoms, which, in theory at least, should help smokers to quit. However, the vast majority of NRT users either resume smoking or become as addicted to expensive nicotine gum, patches, and lozenges.

Although no studies have compared cold turkey to Chantix, researchers have studied Chantix against NRT. While one study showed that Chantix appeared to be more effective than NicoDerm CQ in the short term, after a year, the success rate was statistically the same for both Chantix and NRT users. According to WhyQuit, the study forced Pfizer researchers to report that there were “no significant differences” between Chantix and NRT, but Pfizer’s ads do not mention the statistic.

If cold turkey is more effective than Chantix, and NRT is about the same, “why assume Chantix’s long list of serious use risks in exchange for little or no benefit?” WhyQuit asks.

The organization says that without support, “Chantix is probably worthless.” While counseling and support have proven their ability to drastically boost the chances of quitting permanently, Chantix has never been tested as a stand-alone smoking cessation aid. The drug is packaged with a support plan that includes a toll-free number and a web site to which consumers may turn for extra support. Pfizer hasn’t said what percent of Chantix users take advantage of the support program, but if the support seekers were subtracted from the total number of successful Chantix quitters, then the success rate would likely plummet.

Also, if Chantix were as helpful as Pfizer claims, then smoking rate in America ought to be descending. Since Chantix first appeared on the market, however, the adult smoking rate actually increased by one percent.

A third point of contention WhyQuit makes concerns the placebo studies that researchers conducted to gauge the effectiveness of Chantix. “Use of placebo controls in drug addiction studies is license to steal,” WhyQuit says, asserting that test subjects who experience severe withdrawal symptoms certainly know that they’ve been given a placebo rather than a drug that is supposed to mitigate those symptoms. Such studies allow Pfizer to exaggerate the efficacy of Chantix.

Fourthly, WhyQuit calls Pfizer out on its ads displaying people who claim, “I honestly love smoking,” saying that the ads mess with the drug-addicted brains of smokers. Pfizer adds appeal to Chantix by telling consumers that they may continue to smoke through the first week of treatment.

“It isn’t that we loved smoking but that we didn’t like what happened when we didn’t smoke,” WhyQuit claims.

“Drug addiction is about living a lie,” WhyQuit says. A dopamine reward pathway that convinces the addict that “nicotine use defines who they are, gives them their edge, helps them cope and that life without smoked nicotine would be horrible. Pfizer knows this and is now playing upon it.”

Finally, WhyQuit asserts that “what Pfizer will never teach smokers is that cold turkey accounts for far more long-term success stories each year than all other quitting methods combined.” After 3 days of nicotine abstinence, physical withdrawal symptoms dissipate and the brain works to heal its receptors. Counseling and support help cold turkey quitters with the emotional and psychological aspects of quitting smoking.

SOURCE: Chantix Recall › Support group says Chantix ads conceal important information

That snowball appears to be gaining speed and momentum. At least five congressman have queried the VA over the Chantix tests, and now a number of veteran’s groups are adding their voice to the chorus of anger.

The VA study proceeded without interruption even after FDA warnings surfaced announcing a strong link between Chantix, depression and suicide, and other adverse side effects. Since the story broke, the VA has been trying to brush aside concerns, claiming that it took reasonable action and notified all the appropriate people. However, based on all reports so far, the only people who weren’t notified were the veterans participating in the study.

Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, told ABC News that “it is
unacceptable for even one veteran to have been misled about the possible side effects of Chantix.”

The VA had previously dismissed claims that it acted irresponsibly, saying that the actions of one soldier weren’t enough to justify discontinuing a study that had potential value for many more veterans.

That one soldier is James Elliot, a US Army sniper with PTSD. Mr. Elliot had a run in with police a couple months after he began taking Chantix.

“Are you going to shoot me? Shoot me,” Mr. Elliot told cops when they found him in the street packing a loaded gun.

After hearing that the VA neglected to warn him about the risks of Chantix, Mr. Elliot claimed that he felt like a “Lab rat, guinea pig, disposable hero.”

“Our nation’s veterans are not guinea pigs,” said Paul Rieckhoff.

Paul Sullivan, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense (VCS), expressed his disappointment in the VA. “The VA should have done a better job protecting the human rights of our veterans,” he said.

“While VCS supports research to assist veterans, VA must bear a heavy burden of responsibility with these experiments on veterans diagnosed with PTSD,” said Sullivan, who wants the study to be suspended immediately.

SOURCE: Chantix Recall › Veterans groups react to VA Chantix tests