The Build-Up

I’ve tried to stop smoking several times before with varying success. The longest I managed was 3 months but something happened and I went back on them again.

This time I’m more determined than ever to succeed and I think that writing to this blog may help, because if I fail I’ll feel like I’ve let everyone down who reads this (that is assuming that anyone will read it!). Also, perhaps I can help someone else to quit. If both myself and at least one other person quits because of this blog, then it’s all been worthwhile.

My doctor recommended Champix to me, which is available in the UK on prescription and is fairly new. In the US it’s known as Chantix. You continue smoking while taking it for a while (which I liked the sound of) and then stop at a chosen point in the second week.

My understanding of the drug is that it attaches itself to the receptors in the brain that nicotine normally attaches to. Therefore it means that even while you’re smoking, you’re not getting the full effect of the nicotine so it doesn’t seem so bad once you finally stop.

I took my first tablet on January 1st and decided to stop on day 12, simply because that would be a Saturday and I figured that would be easier for some reason. Incidentally, on the packet it says you should pick a day between day 8 and day 14.

I didn’t really notice any difference during the first week, but in the second week I noticed I was smoking less, simply because I had lost a bit of the urge. This was encouraging but I was hoping that it wasn’t just a placebo effect.