Champix May Help Alcoholics Too
Written by Stuart Stevens | Friday, 13 July 2007 | There are 12 comments
Champix may also be used in the future to help alcoholics and heavy drinkers...
A research project seen by Ukmedix News shows that the effective smoking cessation drug Champix may also be used in the future to help alcoholics and heavy drinkers stop drinking alcoholic drinks. The active ingredient of the Champix drug namely varenicline apparently works very well in controlling the urge to have a drink. The researchers who worked with rats that had been given large amounts of alcohol over a period of four months and thus had become dependent on it saw that when they gave them the Champix drug they did not drink as much as they had been doing previously.
The Champix drug also has the advantage that it is safe and it does not work by reducing the appetite so that if alcoholics were to use it they would not eat less. Another drug on the market that reduces cravings for smoking, [Acomplia] is also known to reduce the appetite. It is possible also that in the future the Champix drug could also be used to treat people who have other addictions such as to pain killers and gambling. It could eventually become a medication to treat all types of addiction and not just smoking addiction. The Champix smoking cessation drug works only on the brain receptors that control the urge to smoke and in fact all addictive urges. The researchers noted that is appears that alcohol also seems to affect the same area of the brain that nicotine does.
Many people who are alcoholics also smoke and associate those habits together. People who are trying to give up smoking often say that one of the very difficult things to do is to have a drink and not to smoke and therefore the Champix drug could be especially useful for them. Champix is made by the medical company Pfizer and if this alcohol related benefit can be properly researched and tested it could prove to be a financial boost for the company.
There are 12 comments on this article.
Hinnie said:
My husband is in week 3 of his chamoix therapy to stop smoking. He like a drink, so of course I have not tried to deprive him of that at the same time as withdrawing from nicotine but the side effects when he does have a drink are quite astounding - he is "off with the fairies" after a couple of red wines and this is entirely out of character. Could it be his body rejecting alcohol as a result of the effect that you describe above?
Margot Nazar said:
January 7, 2010 Canada
I have been on Champix now three months and it's quite an amazing little pill. I also do love my beer however I agree that Champix has definitly slowed down my want of another beer after the first one.
I found that alot of things don't really taste the same anymore is this a side effect that will go away?
Lorrie said:
@margot, don't forget that quitting smoking makes food taste different in itself. It's probably not the Champix which is changing the food taste but the reawkening of your taste buds... Enjoy :)
Staffs said:
Taste is the only side effect I'm having, everything apart from sweet tastes awful so you don't want it, including wine.
Tarron said:
I have been taking champix as well and I agree that it DOES curb my craving for alcohol. As a bartender, I am exposed to liquor all the time and drinking it was just second nature amoungst my peers. Since taking Champix, the urge to drink is significantly less (as is my smoking). It a great thing!
Joel said:
I have been taking Champix for eight days and have not smoked for five days. I have always been a heavy drinker and have been astonished to note that since taking Champix, I have had no urge to drink. I had one glass of wine yesterday and very unusually, no desire to finish off the bottle....great bonus!
Albert said:
I' am alcoholic and smoker. I have been taking Champix and it works very well in reducing my craving for alcohol and nicotine. I'm so glad with this... Sorry if my Englis is not very good, but I'm french.
Mary B said:
I am on my second round with Champix and forgot last year that it also curved my addiction to alcohol. I am an alcoholic who am so glad to have found Champix for both my addictions.
Taryn K said:
I am 35 years old and have been a mild to heavy drinker for most of my adult life. The longest I could go without at least one drink was 2wks. Having an understanding of addiction and the brain, I figured champix may help ease my alcohol cravings as well. I stopped drinking 2wks before I started champix, then i stopped smoking after 2wks of being on champix. I have not had a cigarette or any alcohol since. The drug targets the addiction receptors. Champix is a wonder drug, imagine the millions of people suffering addictions that it will be able to help?
Margaret Hoaen said:
I gave up smoking with Champix 7 weeks ago. I stopped taking Champix 2 weeks ago. I have lost 10lbs since giving up smoking. Wine still tastes awful and so I do not drink it. I used to have about 1/3 bottle every night. Now I might have 2 alcoholic drinks a week. The bright light for me is champagne which still tastes great.
prefer annonymous said:
Hi have been in residential rehab for alcoholism. It failed. I have been drinking hard -out every night for 14 years. Day 3 on Champix I lost all desire to drink. Now 3 weeks later, no smokes and not a drop of alcohol. I have been around it, its not hard to say NO - I simply don't want it...I am astounded, and profoundly grateful.
I spent 4 miserable months in rehab, therapy, drugs etc. $40K later...and It didn't work. Champix has saved my life.
Mady said:
Yes, it is so true.. I was on Champix last year and gave up booze and smokes also. Problem was, I just recently started both again so I am back on champix and honesly, after one day, I don't feel like either.. changes the taste buds I think!
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