Stop Smoking - Nic-Stix

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The information in this article is intended as a helpful guide only. It is not intended to be used as a substitute for professional advice. If you have any questions about your medications and what is right for you see your doctor, pharmacist or other health care professional.

Last time we talked about the nicotine lolly pop to stop smoking. There is a pill to stop smoking called Zyban or the generic name is bupropion. It is available by prescription only. What should you know about it? First it is a pill, not a patch or a gum. It works on a part of your brain and reduces your craving for smoking. It does not have any nicotine in it. In fact, under the supervision of your doctor, you can be on Zyban and a nicotine gum or patch at the same time. With your doctor's supervision, you would start taking Zyban about a week before you quit smoking. This is to build up enough of the drug in your system, that by quit day you should have less cravings to smoke.

There are some side effects from Zyban. The most common include dry mouth and difficulty sleeping. These are often mild and disappear after a few weeks. The most common reason for people to stop taking Zyban are shakiness and skin rash. There is also a 1 in 1000 chance that Zyban may cause seizures in people taking it.

What about smoking cessation planning and behavior modification? These are very useful add-ons to the medications to quit smoking. These plans focus on things like what events in your life trigger you to smoke and how to avoid or manage those triggers. Sometimes the public doesn't realize when the drug companies talk about the success rates of their products being 20-25% of users remain non-smokers after 1 year, they are talking about people who have used the product PLUS had a smoking cessation plan drawn up for them. For example, studies have found that the quit rate with the patch is about 20% with a plan, and about 10% without one. Ten percent success rate is the same as someone trying to quit cold turkey.

Speaking of triggers and cravings, sometimes smokers have a craving and sticking something like a lollipop or gum in their mouth is inappropriate. What should they do? Well the nicotine patch is too slow for an immediate craving and so is the pill Zyban. What if you had a discreet little applicator which you could rub on your wrist and get nicotine immediately? Well at the Dauphin Clinic Pharmacy, we are compounding such a device for patients at the request of their doctors. We call it a Nic-Stix and with a prescription from a patient's doctor, we compound a device that looks like a chap stick tube. The Nic-Stix has 30mg of nicotine in it so is will last 1-4 weeks depending on use, but it also must be kept away from children because it would be toxic if ingested. The Nic-Stix will melt easily, so it should be kept in a cool place, but is small enough to be carried almost anywhere.

The tobacco industry today seems to be targeting youth. It needs new customers as old ones die off and it is financially most advantageous to target young teens and pre-teens to get them hooked early. There are some people who believe the tobacco industry pays large sums of money for cigarettes to be smoked strategically in movies, music videos, etc. to subtly encourage teens to try smoking.

“Too bad today wasn’t like the good old days, when everyone smoked and no one minded.” I’ve heard people say that and reminisce about when all the chairs in the doctors office had ash-trays built in and all the doctors, the pharmacists and the patients seemed to be smoking. But even then, not everyone liked cigarette smoke. Even 400 years ago, not everyone liked smoking. “The habit of smoking is disgusting to sight, repulsive to smell, dangerous to the brain, noxious to the lung, spreading its fumes around the smoker as foul as those that come from Hell.” - King James I, 1604. Smoking kills 5 million people annually worldwide. Smoking kills three times more people than alcohol, AIDS, illicit drugs, car accidents, suicide and murder all combined. Quitting smoking is very difficult, and it takes the average ex-smoker six serious quit attempts before one sticks, but the results are worth it.

Some places for more info:

Butt Out (designed for youth) Manitoba Lung Association 1-888-566-5864
e-Quit Health Canada online www.gosmokefree.ca
Youth target: www.quit4life.ca
As always if you have any questions or concerns about these or other products, ask your pharmacist.