Keep A Positive Frame Of Mind And Champix Will Help You Sail Through The Smoking Blues

March 4th, 2010

Champix is a prescription medicine that helps adults 18 and over to achieve smoking cessation.

Define Champix Varenicline

Champix is a prescription medication that is used to help people who are addicted to nicotine and want to give up smoking. These tablets contain the active ingredient Varenicline, which acts in the brain, but differs from nicotine replacement therapy.

Varenicline, a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor and partial agonist, acts on the same receptors in the brain as nicotine. It works by stimulating the nicotinic receptors in the brain. Stimulation produces an effect that relieves nicotine craving. Once the nicotine craving is taken care of, the withdrawal symptoms simply do not occur. This makes it easier to achieve smoking cessation.

In addition, Varenicline blocks the nicotinic receptors from responding to the nicotine; this prevents inhaled tobacco from having a rewarding and enjoyable effect or giving the smoker the proverbial ‘kick’.

How to Use Champix Varenicline

Prior to starting Varenicline therapy, it is best to set a date quit date and then proceed to take the medicine about one to two weeks before that quit date. This gives Champix time to start working on the nicotinic receptors so that it becomes easy for you to quit on the date you have set for yourself. Give or take a few days, some people quit much before the quit date, but some find it impossible to quit on the set date also. Nevertheless, given time, one does quit with Champix.

You start by taking the bare minimal recommended dose and gradually increase dose in the first week of treatment. Then Champix is to be taken twice a day for 12 weeks. If you have successfully managed to achieve smoking cessation at the end of 12 weeks, the doctor may offer you a further 12 week course of Champix treatment. This is normally done to avoid relapse.

Champix tablets must not be broken, crushed or chewed. They are meant to be swallowed whole with a glass of water; however, it can be ingested with or without food. Champix increases your chances manifold of successfully achieving smoking cessation.

Precautions when using Champix

As with any other drug, Champix also comes with strict precautionary guidelines that must be adhered to – in order to achieve smoking cessation – as well as keeping oneself at bay from serious life-threatening side effects. Patient reports reveal that some people witness changes in behavior, thoughts and actions when attempting to quit smoking with Champix. In case you, your family, or another caregiver notices these changes that are not normally typical for you, you must stop taking Champix and call the doctor right away.

Champix may make you feel dizzy or sleepy and therefore even impair your ability to perform potentially hazardous tasks like driving or operating machinery.

In addition, reports of suicidal thoughts or behaviour have been rampant. But, this is difficult to pinpoint as quitting itself can make people depressed, especially if they already have a history of mental health problem and depression associated with suicidal thoughts. However, not everyone will experience the above mentioned side effects. But in case you feel you are veering towards these negative side effects, you should immediately stop the use of Champix and consult your doctor.

In some people the urge to smoke returns upon concluding the Champix course. Similarly, feelings of irritability, depression or insomnia may also surface in some people. In order to overcome this problem, you must consult our doctor so that your Champix dose can be gradually tapered off, rather than stopping it abruptly.

Champix must be used with caution in:

Decreased kidney or liver function People with history of psychiatric illness, like depression, schizophrenia or bipolar disorder Epilepsy

Champix is not recommended for use in:

Children and adolescents under the age of 18 years as there is no information regarding its safety and efficacy in this age group People who are allergic to one or any of the Champix ingredients Pregnant women or women who plan on becoming pregnant as its safety has not been established Lactating mothers as it is not known if Champix can pass into breast milk

In addition, Champix must not be combined with other medications as this may result in untoward side effects. These medications include:

Cozapine Dxtropropoxyphene Fecainide Fuvoxamine Oanzapine Pntazocine Penylbutazone Some benzodiazepines, eg oxazepam Some beta-blockers, eg propranolol Tacrine Theophylline Tricyclic antidepressants, such as imipramine Warfarin

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Smoking and Weight Loss – is it Worthwhile to Initiate an Attempt to Slim Down Through Smoking?

February 24th, 2010

Though I am not in the league of Jennifer Lopez or Tom Cruise for the sole reason that I donâ??t fit into the category of exceedingly beautiful people, I do have in store a little sagacity with myself which prevents me from adopting smoking as a measure to lose weight and attain an enviable physique. Whatsoever information is available on the ill-effects of smoking, it boldly points towards the fact that SMOKING MARS LOOKS RATHER THAN IMPROVING THEM and so you are likely to succumb to large-scale losses on the way if you rely on cigarettes for slimming and trimming!

With a few facts in your hand, you can easily judge and evaluate the impact of smoking on your looks and appearance. There is not even an iota of falsehood in the fact that cigarette smoking leads to discoloration of the teeth and fingers and can also be a powerful factor in bringing early wrinkles on your face. So then? Wonâ??t it be utterly absurd and ridiculous to contemplate weight loss through smoking cigarettes and other tobacco containing products?

Your neighbors and friends who have taken up cigarette smoking as a measure to reduce the extra flab on the body would soon come in contact with the entire fallacy of their beliefs when the little weight they had lost via smoking would come back to them in no time. If they stop smoking cigarettes it is inevitable and if they and continue the intake of tobacco containing substances, the harmful consequences of nicotine intake would doubly jeopardize their health.
To inform you a few truths on the possible harms from nicotine addiction, let me mention that smoking is capable of inducing a whole array of illnesses in your body and the most deadly among them are cancer and erectile dysfunction. You need to safeguard yourself and there in no point in pushing your health and hygiene to the throes of destruction in order to fulfill the illusory dream of physical upliftment through smoking!

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Marijuana smoke coming through my vents :s?

February 24th, 2010

I live in a 4-plex and someone in another unit is smoking pot…lots of it when they do. When my heater goes on my house wreaks of pot smoke. I have a 4 month old baby and a 22 month old baby…is this affecting them? Or myself and my husband? Why is it coming out of our vents if we each have our own furnace? What should I do about this?
Thanks in advance!

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Help a Friend Quit Smoking Through Encouragement

February 23rd, 2010

Help a friend quit smoking by consistently being there as an encouragement to them. Support their goal to stop smoking with enthusiasm and vigor-this well help them face their smoking demon. The power of a supportive family member or friend is amazing to anyone who is trying to quit smoking.

How to Encourage

Many people that are close to a smoker do not know how to encourage them without being a nag. Encouragement is a wonderful gift to your friend or family member and can easily be accomplished. You do not need special skills to encourage…you just need a kind heart and a willingness to listen.

Once quitting has been identified as a possible goal it is time for you to step in with encouraging words. It is important not to be overly focused on helping the person become smokeless. Instead use encouraging words to let your friend or family member know that you are there for them if they need anything.

Becoming smoke-free is a long and difficult process. Your job as the encourager is to help your friend forget about the mistakes or slip-ups and encourage all the progress they are making. Most smokers do have an occasional slip up, don’t encourage a slip up but don’t berate your friend when one happens. Everyone is human and will make mistakes; it is what happens after the mistake that counts. Help your friend get back on track to reaching their non-smoking goal.

Nicotine and tobacco are very addictive substances that can take months or even years to truly get out of a person’s system. Even after quitting some smokers say they continue to have urges to start smoking again. Your loved one will welcome your continued support as they struggle to stay smoke-free.

How to Quit

It does not matter how a person chooses to quit smoking. Some people feel that they have to quit smoking cold turkey, while others cannot imagine the horrors of that. The gradual decrease of nicotine is the most common way for smokers to quit smoking. They gradually decrease their exposure to nicotine through decreasing their cigarette consumption and often time using a nicotine patch.

For encouragement purposes you can help support your friend or family member no matter how they have decided to quit smoking. Some important tips to help encourage the smoker’s in your life to stop smoking:

1. Be positive and uplifting when you talk about their successes.

2. Acknowledge when mistakes are made but don’t dwell on them

3. Support their choice in quitting strategies

4. Help them steer clear of highly charged smoking situations

5. Be their friend!

You do not have to be a counselor to be good at encouraging. Simply be there for your friend or family member as they struggle to quit smoking. Encourage them every moment you get and they will soon have control over their desire to stop smoking. Remember that every person is going to quit smoking in a different way, so be supportive of the way your friend has decided to quit smoking and don’t judge them.

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Quit Smoking Through Simple Home Remedies

February 22nd, 2010

Much has been said and written about smoking as a dangerous health problem. Each and every person who smokes is aware of the fact that their habit could hasten them towards death. Smoking is known to be one of the carcinogenic factors, and could lead to a wide variety of cancers including lung cancer and oral cancer. Smoking also causes various breathing and respiratory problems.

But despite knowing all this, people are reluctant to give up smoking. The main attraction of smoking is the tobacco smoke, which is an addictive. In addition, tobacco smoke also contains nicotine, which is deadly poisonous to human beings in its pure form. Tar is another harmful ingredient. This can clog the lungs over time.

Many smokers have intentions to give up smoking, but cannot go about it in the right way. The main reason behind their inability to give up smoking is its addiction. Of course, a person wishing to give up smoking must have a steely determination to do so. But many a time that is not enough. The body may react violently to the sudden giving up of smoking. For this reason, it is necessary to fortify the body also.

In Ayurveda, there are some good techniques in which the body can be trained to cope up with the reduced smoking habits. This article tries to list some of the better Ayurvedic techniques in helping smokers in their quest of giving up smoking.

Dietary Methods to Stop Smoking

By changing your dietary lifestyle, you can make an effort to quit smoking. The following guidelines can be followed:-

- Do not consume more of acidic foods. Increase the quantity of alkaline foods in the diet. This changes the food preferences of the taste buds and helps them to adapt themselves to the de-addiction. Foods such as raisins, beets, lima beans, dandelion, etc. are very good for people who are giving up smoking.

- Have a good amount of vitamin C intake. This increases the hormones that help the body strengthen. Have a glass of orange juice or grapefruit juice twice daily.

- Sweet foods also help a bit to reduce the urge for smoking. Honey must be liberally used in the diet in different forms.

- Keep your food well supplemented with sources of proteins, amino acids and all the different kinds of vitamins.

- Have a glassful of water with a teaspoon of baking soda in it with every meal. This not only helps to digest the meal properly, but it also helps to reduce the urge for smoking after the meal.

Home Remedies to Quit Smoking

- Whenever you feel the urge of smoking, eat something salty, or lick a little salt with the tip of your tongue. Your craving will go away. If you do this every time you feel like smoking, you will be totally cured of the addiction.

- Grate some radish, strain it and extract its juice. Mix some honey in it. Have this juice twice a day. This is a good remedy for raising the body’s tenacity against smoking.

- Licorice sticks have a placebo effect on smokers. Smokers like to have something in their mouths. So, some experts suggest them to chomp on licorice sticks. These are safe substitutes for the cigarettes. Putting some chocolates in the mouth also help to reduce the urge of smoking. But excessive chocolates are dangerous to health in other respects.

- Chew on sugarcane stubs as a substitute for cigarettes. Sugarcane stubs are very harmless, and their sweet taste helps to reduce the urge for smoking.

- Aromatic oils and fragrances are very good for smokers. A massage with aromatherapy oils can really go a long way in curbing the smokers’ urges.

- When there is nothing around, experts also suggest a certain breathing therapy to stop the craving for cigarettes. When you have an urge, sit down in a calm place. Take ten slow and deep breaths. By doing so, you are stimulating your respiratory system. This will slowly help your urge for smoking to subside.

- Foreign herbs such as valerian, chamomile, hops, skullcap, lobelia and peppermint are also very beneficial in suppressing the urge for smoking.

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Can the smell of marijuana seep through walls?

February 22nd, 2010

I just had a new neighbor move in and now we’ve started smelling really strong marijuana all over in our apartment. I’ve had relatives who smoked pot and both my boyfriend and I know what it smells like. I’m pregnant and the smell is really getting to me.
My question is, could it be our new neighbors smoking marijuana?

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