Here's a question i'd love to get answers to! Please contribute!

[missy8]

Today at work one of the custodians was telling us how he quit smoking. Last week he started chantix, and so when he was telling us today that he has cut down his smoking, but still smokes at least a pack or so a day (clearly he smoked much more than that regularly), i became confused. I thought it negates the purpose of taking the med if you are still smoking on it, more importantly smoking that much, but he swears the doctor said he started taking it to make him cut down. Is its purpose to whittle away your want for cigarettes to the point where you can go from 3 packs a day to basically nothing? Or do you take it when you give up the cigs and actually quit? I am not on it, and I don't know that much about it, but from what I had gathered on here if you are still smoking rather heavily then it defeats the purpose of the medication. Anyone?? Oh, and I am quickly aproaching Day 50! Just thought I'd throw that out there since I am so thrilled about it! 🙂

[rj_]

Congrats on approaching day 50, if you are saying 50 days free from nicotine you are on the down hill slide, it will continue to get better and better.
RJ

[scrambled_egg81]

I'll add on to KarenS's reply-I've been on Buproprion (Zyban) thanks to my insurance company considering Chantix an "experimental" drug, but Zyban basically does the exact same thing. Eventually, you train your brain to say "hey now, I'm still smoking, but it's not doing anything for me!" A better way to describe it might be drinking a beer but feeling completely normal (bad example, but the best that came to mind). Either way, both drugs seem to work in the same manner. 🙂

[joanie3]

Chantix does work like Karen said but it also makes the cigs not taste good. got a sour taste after a smoke. I smoked for 36 years and I am am Chantix for 44 days, and smoke free for 34 days. I know I could not have gotten this far without the Chantix. Congrats on the 50 days.

[laura35]

Karen explained it really well.......I was on it for awhile and I really liked it. However, check the side effects...............

[missy8]

thanks you guys, and thanks for all the congratulatory messages. i will have to check in with that custodian in a week then to see if he is still smoking on the chantix or not!

[bobbie-christenson]

sounds crazy to me a pack a day is a whole lot of cigs, how can he quit if he is smoking that much confusing to me bobbie

[missy8]

that's why it sounded weird to me to start on a med and still smoke that much. i mean it's less than what he was smoking, but it sounds like this dr has him on the meds to quit like the meds are going to make him quit and not his own doinf, does that make any sense? I mean if they start someone on Chantix a week or two before they totally quit that kinda makes sense, but i just don't get prescribing it with no real plan, cuz it doesn't sound like it is a med you should take and smoke on for a long period of time, but what do i know? That's why I'm asking everyone!

[bobbie-christenson]

you know that you don't want to do that, trust me i would be afraid of the dynamics of side effects of smoking so much, i know you are supposed to take it a week or two before you quit but i think it is a small amount of cig, so i would be worried, take car and try not to worry to much honey bobbie