2008 Woodie Awards
College offering quit-smoking pill
Michelle Besaw
Issue date: 4/13/07 Section: News
Originally published: 4/12/07 at 4:37 PM EST
Last update: 4/12/07 at 4:37 PM EST
- Page 1 of 1
A new quit-smoking drug is now available at the Center for Student Health and Psychological Services.
Two to three students a week at Plattsburgh State are getting Chantix prescriptions, Nurse Practitioner Jill Silver said.
Chantix costs $96 a month and is covered by most insurance plans including Medicare and Medicaid.
Health Center Secretary Linda Dragon said she has been smoking since she was 16 and is on her ninth week of treatment and said she hasn't cheated since the first week of treatment.
Health Educator Jerimy Blowers said he is a skeptic of these types of drugs.
"But this one impresses me," he said.
Chantix is a prescription medicine that reduces the urge to smoke by activating receptors in the brain, blocking nicotine from attaching to them.
When nicotine reaches these receptors, they release dopamine - giving you the feeling of pleasure and calmness. When dopamine levels begin to drop, smokers feel the withdrawal symptoms of irritability and stress.
Chantix is the only treatment of its kind that does not contain nicotine. It was specifically developed to address the sensation of smoking.
"Pretty much after you finish a cigarette you go into withdrawal," Professional Health Care Pfizer Representative Michael Stoeckle said.
By blocking the effects of nicotine on the brain, people taking Chantix that "cheat" and smoke a cigarette will not have same reinforcement they normally get.
Most drug trials undergo a 10-month review, but Chantix was given a six-month priority review because of the high rate of smoking cessation.
In two studies, 44 percent of those taking 1 mg of Chantix twice-a-day quit smoking.
Thirty percent of those taking 150 mg of another quit-smoking drug, Zyban, quit smoking.
In conjunction with taking the pill, the "Get Quit" support plan is a service provided daily for the 12 week treatment and two to three times a week for the first year after quitting.
The drug was designed by Dr. Jotham Coe, a Pfizer scientist, who was once a heavy smoker.
He spent 13 years and $1 billion to create Chantix.
Chantix's most common side effects are nausea, headaches and sleeping issues.
Two to three students a week at Plattsburgh State are getting Chantix prescriptions, Nurse Practitioner Jill Silver said.
Chantix costs $96 a month and is covered by most insurance plans including Medicare and Medicaid.
Health Center Secretary Linda Dragon said she has been smoking since she was 16 and is on her ninth week of treatment and said she hasn't cheated since the first week of treatment.
Health Educator Jerimy Blowers said he is a skeptic of these types of drugs.
"But this one impresses me," he said.
Chantix is a prescription medicine that reduces the urge to smoke by activating receptors in the brain, blocking nicotine from attaching to them.
When nicotine reaches these receptors, they release dopamine - giving you the feeling of pleasure and calmness. When dopamine levels begin to drop, smokers feel the withdrawal symptoms of irritability and stress.
Chantix is the only treatment of its kind that does not contain nicotine. It was specifically developed to address the sensation of smoking.
"Pretty much after you finish a cigarette you go into withdrawal," Professional Health Care Pfizer Representative Michael Stoeckle said.
By blocking the effects of nicotine on the brain, people taking Chantix that "cheat" and smoke a cigarette will not have same reinforcement they normally get.
Most drug trials undergo a 10-month review, but Chantix was given a six-month priority review because of the high rate of smoking cessation.
In two studies, 44 percent of those taking 1 mg of Chantix twice-a-day quit smoking.
Thirty percent of those taking 150 mg of another quit-smoking drug, Zyban, quit smoking.
In conjunction with taking the pill, the "Get Quit" support plan is a service provided daily for the 12 week treatment and two to three times a week for the first year after quitting.
The drug was designed by Dr. Jotham Coe, a Pfizer scientist, who was once a heavy smoker.
He spent 13 years and $1 billion to create Chantix.
Chantix's most common side effects are nausea, headaches and sleeping issues.
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