Pharmaceutical name: Pack: 1 tab (4 Week Pack Tabs 56, 1 mg)
Champix is one of the latest and most effective treatments to help you stop smoking. Champix tablets contain the active ingredient varenicline, which is a medicine used to help people who are addicted to nicotine to give up smoking. It acts in the brain, but is not the same as nicotine replacement therapy.
You should set a date on which you will stop smoking and start taking this medicine one to two weeks beforehand. This is because the medicine needs time to start working. The dose is increased gradually in the first week of treatment (follow the instructions given by your doctor or pharmacist) and the medicine should then be taken twice a day for 12 weeks. If you have successfully managed to stop smoking at the end of 12 weeks, your doctor may offer you a further 12 week course of treatment. The tablets should be swallowed whole with a drink of water. They can be taken with or without food.
You should seek help and support as much as possible while giving up smoking, even while taking this medicine, as this will increase your chance of success. Your doctor, practice nurse or local pharmacist can all provide this support.
Administration
The initial dose is one 0.5mg Champix tablet per day, which then increases to two 0.5mg tablets per day. You should then give up smoking in the second week of the treatment, taking two 1mg tablets per day up until the end of the treatment. Champix should be taken at about the same time every day with water - this can be either with or without food. The total length of the treatment is 12 weeks – after which you may continue for longer if Champix has helped you.
Use with caution in
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Decreased kidney function.
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History of psychiatric illness, eg depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder.
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Epilepsy.
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Not to be used in
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Pregnancy.
Champix is not recommended for children and adolescents under 18 years of age, as there is no information regarding its safety and efficacy in this age group. This medicine should not be used if you are allergic to one or any of its ingredients. Please inform your doctor or pharmacist if you have previously experienced such an allergy. If you feel you have experienced an allergic reaction, stop using this medicine and inform your doctor or pharmacist immediately.
Side effects
Giving up smoking with or without treatment can cause various symptoms. These include changes in mood (such as feeling depressed, irritable, frustrated or anxious), difficulty sleeping or concentrating, decreased heart rate and increased appetite or weight gain. Medicines and their possible side effects can affect individual people in different ways. The following are some of the side effects that are known to be associated with using this medicine to help give up smoking. It is not known if these side effects are a result of using the medicine, or a result of giving up smoking. Just because a side effect is stated here does not mean that all people using this medicine will experience that or any side effect.
