saw nothing that pointed to Champix producing more adverse events than NRT

At Ukmedix News we have written a number of articles about the side effects of the smoking cessation drug Champix which has led many people to avoid using it. A new report however coming from researchers at the University of Bristol claims that there is no strong clinical evidence that the use of Champix increases the likelihood of depression or suicidal thoughts when compared with other methods for quitting smoking.

The UK study which involved over 80,000 smokers between the ages of 18 and 95 saw nothing that pointed to Champix producing more adverse events than when using the antidepressant medication Zyban or nicotine replacement therapy. Dr. Gunnell who led the study said these results were reassuring however he stopped short of completely exonerating Champix from any psychological adverse effects and said that a larger study would be required.

At Ukmedix News we don’t take it upon ourselves to give specialist medical advice about whether Champix causes psychological adverse effects however this study adds weight to the argument that many of these psychological adverse events reported when using Champix were due to the nicotine withdrawal symptoms and not to the Champix itself.

Dr. Gunnell and his team concluded that even if using Champix does appear to have some risks, people trying to quit should remember that stopping smoking is “one of the best things” that they could do for their health and that there was "robust evidence" that using Champix really did help many individuals to smoke their last cigarette.

The research which was published by the British Medical Journal may encourage smokers to stop pussyfooting around and do something to quit. At Ukmedix News we have seen how smokers use the most unbelievable excuses to carry on justifying their smoking habit and reports of the adverse effects of Champix were used time and time again. To all those smokers out there our message is that if you think that you are in more danger from Champix then from cigarettes you are seriously misguided, and that you are far more likely to get yourself into serious health problems if you don’t do something about your smoking habit sooner rather than later.