I am taking many, many drugs.

These include:

Champix. As noted, this helps with my nicotine cravings. Which it is. I have only had three cigarettes today and they all tasted like I was licking an ashtray. I am aiming to quit completely to impress a boy. Yes, that’s right. I started smoking to be cool (anyone who says different is lying) and I’m quitting smoking to be cool. It is very hard.

Advil: It turns out I have ’something something disorder’. Wait, I don’t really know what it is. Hang on. Okay, it’s Temporomandibular Joint Disorder. This means my jaw hurts All The Time and it feels like I’ve been punched in the face. Hence the Advil. I’ve been popping these babies like tic tacs and they’re working a treat, however I have never been so excited to see a dentist in my life which is happening on Monday and they better fix me.

and the pill. But that doesn’t count. I’m convinced taking them all at the same time is doing shocking things to my liver so I’ve been self diagnosing on the internet so of course I now think I’m dying of cancer or at least have a benign tumour. Wikipedia does that to you.

Well that sucked. I had a cigarette. It wasn’t even very nice. I must get my Magic Book.

Champix makes you stop the nicotine cravings but that’s easy. The hard part is quitting the blessed action of smoking. Today in this infernal Dante-esque heat, smoking is kinda gross, but as soon as the sun goes down and it’s all nice and summer night like and etc it is super hard.

So I’m going to pop a pill now. I have had a break from them so I don’t know how this is going to work. Cos initially you take one a day and then after awhile you take a stronger one, then two a day and etc, but I’m just going in for the big ones again cos that’s all I have left.

Pfffffffffffffffft.

Some interesting things to note:

When you have no fly spray, deodorant works better then hairspray.

Sophie was a dog. She was a Lassie and wimpy as shit. Shit isn’t exactly wimpy but it’s an expression.

Tomorrow I’m quitting smoking for the second time. I fell off the bandwagon recently. And when I say ‘fell’ I really mean I lost my balance a little bit and thought fuck it and just jumped off.

I am going back on the druuuugs which is Champix which makes you crazy but it didn’t make me too crazy just made me a little light headed, headachey and cigarettes completely unsatisfying. Then I stopped the drugs and hence bandwagon jumpidge. So I’m going to read the Magic Book. The Magic Book being ‘The Easy Way to Stop Smoking’ by Allen Carr. Apparently it’s magic. I’ll go for that.

So here goes it. But as it’s not tomorrow yet (well… it’s 12.04 at night but let’s not quibble) I’m going to have a cigarette. I’ll say goodbye like it’s a friend* moving to Eastern Europe**.

* I am aware I should not think of cigarettes as ‘friends’.

** They still smoke a lot in Eastern Europe.

Analisando as principais buscas pela palavra “parar”, encontrei:

Deixando de lado os termos referentes ao aparelho móvel sem parar, percebi que o segundo termo mais pesquisado por brasileiros é “parar fumar”.  

São aproximadamente 40.500 buscas mensais por “parar fumar”, 450.000 por “fumar” e 368.000 por “cigarro”.

Quando analiso o universo “parar fumar”, as pesquisas mais comuns são “como parar fumar”, “tratamento parar fumar” e “remédio parar fumar”.  Destaco também uma crescente pesquisa por “champix” (medicamento antitabagismo).

Assim como dieta, as buscas por parar de fumar também aumentam na primeira semana de janeiro. Mas, a partir de 2007, os picos entre maio e julho superaram o começo do ano. Acredito que esse aumento pode ter sido ocasionado pela lei que proíbe fumar em ambientes públicos fechados, campanha de responsabilidade social da Pfizer chamada “Eu quero parar” e talvez também pelo filme “Obrigado por Fumar” (Thank You for Smoking).

Racionalmente falando, uma das principais razões para que uma pessoa queira deixar de fumar é evitar as conseqüências que o habito acarreta para a saúde, particularmente o câncer de pulmão.

Diferente das pesquisas por parar de fumar, as buscas por “câncer pulmão” assume a décima posição em relação a todas as pesquisas pela palavra “câncer”.  São aproximadamente 12 mil buscas mensais por câncer de pulmão.

Apesar das buscas por parar de fumar aumentarem em janeiro, o mesmo não acontece com “câncer de pulmão”. Porém, ao decorrer dos meses, há uma ligação entre câncer de pulmão e parar de fumar, apesar da pesquisa pelo termo “parar fumar” ser bem maior:

Fonte: Google Trends

Assim, concluo que o brasileiro entende que o cigarro pode causar câncer de pulmão, e a vontade de parar de fumar é maior que a preocupação com a doença.

Terminada a primeira parte do post, vou agora comparar nosso comportamento com o comportamento dos americanos. (não me pergunte por que escolhi esse povo)

Bem, ao contrario dos brasileiros, o volume de pesquisas por câncer de pulmão é superior a pesquisas por parar de fumar. Contudo, analisando o gráfico, em termos de comportamento de busca há pouca ou nenhuma relação entre parar de fumar e as buscas ligadas ao câncer de pulmão.

Fonte: Google Trends

Ainda que as buscas por “parar de fumar” geralmente aumentarem em janeiro, o mesmo não acontece com “câncer de pulmão”.

Analisando o aumento absurdo de buscas pela doença em agosto de 2005 e 2006, encontrei uma notícia sobre o falecimento do âncora do telejornal ABC News, Petter Jennings, aos 67 anos de idade que há 6 meses sofria de câncer, e Dana Reeve, que após a morte de Jennings também revelou que sofria da doença.

O ponto interessante, é que com as mortes de Jennings e Reeve aumentou a consciência dos norte-americanos acerca do câncer de pulmão, mas não o interesse em parar de fumar. As buscas se mantiveram impressionantemente inalteradas.

Para os americanos, o desejo de parar de fumar aparece em janeiro e não dura 1 semana. Esse desejo nada tem haver com a preocupação com a saúde. Além disso, parece que eles sofrem de uma verdadeira obsessão por celebridades. No Brasil, por exemplo, as mortes de figuras nacionais como Paulo Autran e Maria Silva não aumentaram nem de perto o volume de pesquisa pela doença.

I have personally used both Champix and the electronic cigarette. My stance is quite clear on which I feel is safer both physically and mentally to ditch tobacco. The electronic cigarette is a hands down winner. I suffered too many side effects with Champix and it just didn’t work.

Despite my lack of success many people have used Champix and quit. But there is a darker side to this cessation approved product that is not so widely publicised. Champix can kill.

Taken from the Truth Will Out blog
“It’s not just doctors that are failing to warn smokers about the more deadly serious side-effects of Champix/Chantix. The so-called “public health charity” Action on Smoking and Health (A.S.H.) have conspicuously failed to update their advice to smokers and health professionals in the light of all the horror-stories over the past eighteen months, choosing instead to take their lead from N.I.C.E., the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, who don’t seem to have updated their recommendations about Champix since 2007.”

Champix Kills

Using an electronic cigarette to quit smoking was a matter of personal choice and experimenting with the other options available. It was a choice I’m glad I made.

There are many electronic cigarette companies springing up all over the place. Some are offering good deals but selling poor quality goods – faulty batteries, contaminated cartridges and kits with missing items.

My personal preference is the VIP No.3 kit complete with UK mains charger, usb charger, two rechargeable batteries, atomizer, 10 cartridges, instructions and 1 year warranty! Cartridges work out at £1 and 1 cartridge equals about 10-15 normal cigarettes in terms of how long they last.

Pick a starter kit up directly from the main VIP supplier and don’t forget to order enough cartridges to last you a full month.

I’ve had about 6 smokes and 3 beers 1 pizza. Not a good day healthwise. Can’t decide whether or not to go watch footy tomorrow.

Ok so I’ve been awake for well over an hour and not had a smoke. Champix is working I can tell I’m hardly even thinking about smoking which is good. Yesterday I had one ciggy. Today I’ll aim for none. I’m now on 1mg twice a day now. Felt a little sickly after taking stronger one this morning but that went away.

Chest still hurts I though this pain would go away but no not yet. Have slept through most of the day. It’s nice getting loaned gifts that you have to pay back for. Not so nice when it’s a pack of smokes and your quitting.

Well after 7 weeks and 2 days I’m still off the ciggies.  Thank you Champix.

Big warning though, Champix has some nasty side effects.  I started with only some of them and ended up with all of them.  They recommend you do 12 weeks on the tabs but I was only able to 4.

The Champix work.  Mind you, you do need a good support network around you because if you are in a social situation in the first week it is not easy, but it is not that  hard either.  I really didn’t have that must have desire for the cigs that I have had for the last 35 years!!!  But Champix do have their side affects and I had some.

The nausea was pretty easy, I knew it was the tabs doing it so it was mind over matter.  The downers were a bit harder.  The instructions say they can be depressing.  I think my friends were more right by saying to me you are just having a downer because of the meds and it’s ok.  I let myself wallow a couple of times, hey there is nothing wrong with a  good cry!  Afterwards I got going and got on with my day just fine.  It’s more just being aware of whats going on with you.

They worked for me.  It’s been two weeks now, I have just converted to weeks from days and it feels so good.   I have had a couple of cigs.  I was sick and they were the only thing I could keep down, it was more of a comfort thing than a need.  A friend gave me some advice in the first week.  She said just because you might have one ciggie you are not a smoker again, it doesn’t mean you have to keep smoking.  She was right, I have had a couple but they are not doing anything for me so there is no need for them.

I feel better already.  I have noticed the difference in my  skin already.  I have been told it may take up to 18 months before I notice some physical changes for the better, but hey it can only get better from here.

I have been 5 days smoke free!  Looks like I am well on my way to being a non smoker.  I won’t say Ex Smoker because that implies that I will have to be one of those people who walks past a smoker in the street and turns their nose up at them.  I hope to never be an ignorant non-smoking person, but am still extremely happy to be quitting.

I smoked for more than ten years, but have wanted to quit every single day for the past three.  What kept me smoking I think was the fact that I could not find the inspiration, or rather the right motivation to quit.  What finally did it for me was the combination of two occurrences.  In late March of this year I attended the funeral of one of my aunts who was much too young to have died to a particularly aggressive Cancer.  She had smoked for about as long as I have been alive, or perhaps longer.  As it turned out she had decided to quit smoking not 2 months before being diagnosed with this cancer.  One would think the death of a family member would be inspiration enough to avoid helping myself along to that very same end, but the true inspiration was my father.

My father was only a week or so into quitting at the time that his sister passed away.  He smoked for as long as I can remember, and after quitting for only one week he loses yet another of his family members.  His resolve to quit smoking did not diminish under the pressure but rather strengthened.  Considering he had smoked for longer than I have been alive, and he could quit during that kind of stress and emotional turmoil, I decided ‘If he can do it, I can do it too, except I will to it before I have been smoking for 30 years or more’

After witnessing both of these monumental events I took a few months to collect my own thoughts and my own personal inspiration and decided to go for it!  Luckily for me my doctor was able to offer me some help.  My doctor prescribed Champix, which to my surprise was covered 100% by my company’s drug plan.

This weekend I will be heading to my hometown for a wedding where I will see some of my family members who I have not seen in 3 years, I am very excited to be see everyone again, but this time as one of the non smokers.

If you or someone you know is ready to quit smoking it might be worth talking to your doctor, sometimes they can help.

When I first started taking the Champix I didn’t notice any change at all.  Champix did not make me dislike smoking; it did not deter me in anyway from smoking.  Truth be told at first I thought to myself, is this even doing anything?

It wasn’t until day 8 of the medication that it all started to make sense to me.  This medication doesn’t cause you to quit, it helps you to quit when you have already decided to do so.  It was on day 8 that I woke up in the morning and went hunting for my cigarettes from the night before.  Looking high and low I could not find them anywhere!  That was frustrating.  I decided to relax for a few minutes have a drink, take my daily medications then head to the store for cigarettes.

While I was relaxing and watching television I found a really great film I hadn’t seen in years.  The next thing I knew the movie was over and it was 2 hours later, I had still not gone to the store.

It was at this point that it all made sense to me.  These pills don’t make you not want to smoke, they make you not have to smoke!  It all became clear.  After that point I simply did not buy anymore cigarettes, nor did I ask anyone else for one.

I’m still working on the hardest part of the smoking addiction though, what should I do with my hands?  It is a little strange to go out with friends because normally we would go outside to smoke, but now I don’t need to do that; if I go anyway feels odd.  Watching people I know smoking almost makes me feel outside of something that I used to be inside of.  I realize that this is definitely something that any normal person would want to be on the outside of, but it’s still a little surreal.  Watching people smoke does not make me feel like I want to smoke at all, but it does make me think I should either be holding a cigarette, or I simply shouldn’t be there.  This is something that I will have to work through with time I suppose.  In the meantime I’m just avoiding smoking areas.  I have not gained any weight as of yet but I’m sure I likely will.  I have tried to preemptively work on that issue by walking to and from work (45 minutes each way) to ensure I get more than plenty of exercise each day.  The funny thing is that since I’m not spending several hours of spare time each day smoking cigarettes, I have found all kinds of extra time for exercise and other hobbies.

Well, here’s to one more day smoke free!  I’ll keep you guys up to date on how things are going from time to time.

Sometimes I have difficulty switching off when on holiday. It takes at least a week for all the stuff swirling round your head to settle in a quiet corner. I spent that week pottering, tidying, reading a little in the garden on the two sunny days this past fortnight. This fun was only broken by 2 visits -  one to the dentist and one to the gynaecologist. Both a riot.

I miss work. I miss the people. I miss the routine which is not really routine because every day is different. I miss it all.  And although I recognise that we do need to take some time out, I do get awfully bored without it all. You see, I love my job. It is the perfect job for me and why would I want to take time away from it? To do it better when I return refreshed, I hear you cry. OK, you got me on that one.

This week I went to stay with P in the Borders. That’s the place where you go for peace and quiet and a chance to restore your soul. P lives deep in the valley with just nature for company, and no TV or radio or music either.  On the 3rd day I couldn’t take it any more and hightailed it up the road back to concrete and noise. Although that’s not to say that the country is completely quiet what with the sheep, cows, cats crunching mice and rabbits, bees and the quad bike shepherds.

Throughout it all I gave up smoking. So far that’s 1 week 5 days 10 hours etc and I’ve saved £111 (which coincidentally was the cost of the purple Radley handbag in Melrose).  Must write to Bishop Martin’s wife who sat next to me at the Synod dinner and told me about Champix – a new drug to help giving up smoking with great results.  My sister and I both started taking it at the same time and although she gave up a few days before me because she just went off them, I held on to the last minute before I had to do it. I won’t say its been easy – there is a certain amount of willpower involved – but it certainly hasn’t been hard. And the benefits are immense, as you’d expect. Of course this is not the first time I’ve given up in my 38 years as a dedicated smoker. I did manage 2 years when I was a curate but that all fell apart after a rather stressful time and one too many G&Ts and a persuasive friend.

Champix does have some side effects but they are not too horrendous. You just have to look out for suicidal thoughts and so far I’ve not had any of them. Son #2 is on them now too but we’re keeping an eye of him as he has a very dark sense of humour.  And I should warn you not to mention my girth which was slowly declining and is now rapidly reappearing.

So back to work tomorrow and I expect a round of applause for making it through a couple of weeks without work – oh yes, and without fags.

prima visita il mio sito www.iohosmessocosi.it le sue pagine .solo 5 come i miei consigli per smettere di fumare,poi visita altri siti sullo stesso argomento,confrontalo,noterai la differenza nei costi,nella semplicità,ho cercato una pagina per le transazioni online sicure per la sicurezza dei tuoi dati personali e monetarie,uso PAYPAL;POSTEPAY;VISA/MASTERCARD e altri circuiti su PAGINE CRIPTATE HTTPS e(sempre piattaforma Paypal-Verysign)o più semplicemente Bonifico Bancario.

La consegna è online  dopo il pagamento,Io ho Smesso così è il mio Ebook solo in 5 pagine,con i cinque consigli per smettere di fumare,con un metodo approvato e consigliato dai ministeri della salute europei -tutti,FDA americano,canadese e australiano,puoi tranquillamente mostrarlo al tuo medico di fiducia,anzi lo consiglio ,e vedrai che ti confermerà tuttoe ti consiglierà e prescriverà di iniziare subito.Non dovrai gettare subito i tuoi pacchetti e smettere di fumare immediatamente con il mio metodo,ma in pochi giorni lo farai,decidendo come e quando

Champix Quit Date: April 24, 2008.
Today’s Date: April 24, 2009.

So, that is one year, and in that time, since that quit date, I have not wanted a drag, a smoke, a pack … I don’t even want to be near smoke: My allergies from my childhood are full-on again, and now cigarette smoke (don’t ask) now makes me sick to my stomach and gives me a headache.

It IS possible. It isn’t necessarily easy, but it is possible.

What is it? Varenicline is a drug with a high success rate in helping people quit smoking. The pill is manufactured by Pfizer under the brand name Champix.

This is what I used, I did really well and stopped from 20 – 30 a day to zero for about 8 weeks, thought was doing really well and could do without the tablets, erm NO, started again, the Dr was correct you need to be on them for up to 6 months … So I’m off to the surgery to get my new batch. Now the doctor will make a point of asking whether you have suffered from depression, well let’s face it most people have at one point or another, especially now with money and job worries, so I answered “probably” then he asked have I had any suicidal tendencies or thoughts, “NO” well you wouldn’t say would you, well not a guy anyhow, we go to the Doctor once every 5 – 10 years normally, DO NOT read the side effects, lmao, or you wouldn’t take them, SO the one common side effect that I experienced and I know friends did is you get some crazy dreams for about 4 days, I suppose smoking’s equivalent of “cold turkey” get through that and your good to go!!

Almost there!

Champix Quit Date: April 24, 2008.
Today’s Date: April 13, 2009.

My Lovely Wife has been smoke free for about 6 weeks longer than I.

Interestingly enough, my Champix (Chantix) experience has been quite good.  If you find all of the blog entries I have made about Champix/Chantix here, you can follow what has happened, but one thing I didn’t expect is the complete lack of interest in even thinking about smoking. (Click here to see all of my Champix/Chantix entries)

There was a study done just recently in which smokers were given (free) options to stop smoking every 6 months over the span of two years.  All of the participants either stopped, or agreed to try again to stop, when the 6 month interval came around.  It proves a few things – foremost being that if you want to stop, you want to stop, and even if you don’t, you still want to, and are willing to try.  The other is that it is possible, and sometimes it sucks for a little while, to quit.

For anyone who is a smoker, trust me – you can quit.  There are lots of ways to quit, but you can do it.  If you don’t want to, you won’t.  That isn’t foreboding or anything, it is simple logic.  But, if you want to quit, you can do it, and do it well.  In about ten days, I will be free of a 2-pack-a-day habit – a habit which ranged from about 20 to more than 100 cigarettes in a day in the time I smoked.  I started when I was just over 11 (yes, eleven) years old, and did so in one form or another until one month before my 40th birthday, last May.  I quit for a short time here and there – even quit for a year, cold turkey, but never lost that craving.  This last time, I lost my taste and desire for tobacco altogether.  I actually get nauseated when I smell smoke now.  No lie.  It was how I felt about smoke when I was a child.  If someone smoked in the same room as me, being allergic (ya, that’s another blog, LOL) I would plug up, throw up, and have a migraine.  That is pretty much what happens now.

Even with the “Rez Smokes” – untaxed cigarettes from First Nations communities – the price we paid for cigarettes was about $50.00 each week (way down from $160.00 to $240.00 a week smoking B&H Red Stripes that I used to pay).  $600.00+ a month is a lot to save.  So is $200.00.

I don’t miss it at all.

1 An !!!!  12 mois !!! 365 jours !!! incroyable … non fumeur depuis 1 an .. voilà c’est fait et ce n’est pas si difficile que cela. C’est vrai la motivation est nécessaire et importante, les tentations tenaces, mais c’est largement possible, pour tout le monde, de le faire. La preuve. Je fumais, beaucoup, et je ne pouvais concevoir de vivre sans. “The way of life” , la cool attitude, bref une partie de moi aussi indispensable que mes 5 sens qui un certain 02 février 2008 est partie en fumée..Bah non il est possible de vivre sans, et d’être cool !!

Un truc qui aide grandement à mon sens , c’est l’interdiction  dans les lieux publics,une super  bonne idée !, et je crois que cela facilite aussi pas mal les choses; l’odeur du tabac surtout le matin lorsque je croise des fumeurs est devenue impossible à supporter. Je ne sais que vous dire si ce n’est que j’ai un petit sourire en coin lorsque je vois ces fumeurs sur le trottoir en plein froid se dandiner comme des pingouins à tirer sur ce truc infâme… la cool attitude ?

Dans les soirées ? au secours .. c’est maintenant la plupart des cas, dans la cuisine la fenêtre ouverte .. alors bon .. super le plaisir de fumer.

Je ne tousse plus, des maux de têtes beaucoup plus rares ( alors que j’étais migraineux ), des dents de star, un odorat plus développé, la délivrance du syndrome du paquet du dimanche soir, pas de problème pour se lever le matin  .. bref .. voilà mes 1ères  impressions pour cette 1ère année.

Je pense être sur le bon chemin; celui de la raison et de préserver ainsi et  avant toute  autre chose ma santé pour l’avenir.

Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) Scotland dismissed the findings of yesterday’s investigation by BBC Scotland on the suicidal effects of a drug used to help smokers quit made by Pfizer.

Sheila Duffy, Chief Executive of ASH Scotland told Dunedin Napier News: “The risks of continuing to smoke are certainly far greater than the risks from using any of the stop smoking treatments.

The BBC’s investigation discovered there have been more than 3,000 complaints on the side effects of Champix® in the UK including 260 reporting suicidal-related reactions. Sixteen people have tried to kill themselves and ten have succeeded.

Duffy added: “Tobacco is a deadly drug. It is highly addictive and lethal, killing one in two of its regular long-term users. Smoking is responsible for 24% of deaths in Scotland each year occuring years earlier than they would otherwise - that’s 13,500 lives lost to tobacco each year.

“Drug treatments like Champix or Zyban are generally considered as options when a smoker has not been able to quit using other treatments. They remain prescription only because there are some contra-indications and because any adverse reactions need to be monitored carefully.”

Pfizer said “additional information on depression, suicidal ideation and suicide, and direct guidance about discontinuation of treatment if these symptoms occur and/or are of concern” was provided in August 2008.

Champix® or varenicline has been on the market since 2006. Pfizer states that 63% of patients who use the drug have successfully quit after four weeks.

Pfizer said: “As indicated in the labelling information for varenicline, stopping smoking, with or without treatment, is associated with nicotine withdrawal symptoms and the exacerbation of underlying psychiatric illness. Depressed mood may be a symptom of nicotine withdrawal. Depression, rarely including suicidal thoughts and suicide attempt, has been reported in patients undergoing a smoking cessation attempt, including patients taking varenicline.”

The drug company has made no statement as to whether they would look further into the case.