{"id":1041639,"date":"2010-08-06T08:16:03","date_gmt":"2010-08-06T08:16:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.immortalitymedicine.tv\/smoking-cessation-drug-chantix-may-cause-violent-behavior-experts-say\/"},"modified":"2024-08-17T16:50:44","modified_gmt":"2024-08-17T20:50:44","slug":"smoking-cessation-drug-chantix-may-cause-violent-behavior-experts-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/longevity-medicine\/smoking-cessation-drug-chantix-may-cause-violent-behavior-experts-say.php","title":{"rendered":"Smoking Cessation Drug Chantix May Cause Violent Behavior, Experts Say"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><a href=\"https:\/\/www.immortalitymedicine.tv\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-o-matic\/cache\/3ae30_7363d_smoking-drug_s.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1513 \" src=\"https:\/\/www.immortalitymedicine.tv\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-o-matic\/cache\/3ae30_7363d_smoking-drug_s.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"280\" height=\"186\" style=\"padding-left:10px; padding-right: 10px;\"><\/a><p>The FDA-approved drug Chantix may be causing more problems by producing adverse side effects like aggression, experts say. <\/p><\/div><p>Smoking cessation  is a <em>big problem <\/em>for dependent smokers. Withdrawal symptoms and nicotine  cravings are two of the top reasons why many cannot stop smoking.<\/p><p>A few years ago,  the US FDA approved a drug, Chantix, that was touted as <em>the <\/em>prescription  drug to help people kick the smoking habit.&nbsp; According the drug&rsquo;s medical literature, Chantix works by  acting on the specific brain receptors associated with the chemical nicotine.<\/p><p>Nicotine is an  active ingredient in tobacco products that produces a feeling of well-being and  relief.&nbsp; In the long term, the body  loses its ability to produce similar chemicals that provide stress relief and the  feeling of satisfaction.<\/p><p>This is the  reason why smokers become dependent on tobacco products.&nbsp; It is possible to normalize the brain  chemical production again, but it takes time and the withdrawal symptoms are  painful.<\/p><p><strong>The story of Chantix<\/strong><\/p><p>When a smoker is  prescribed Chantix to help kick the smoking habit, he can continue smoking  until the 8th day of active treatment.&nbsp;  After this point in time, the patient must stop smoking so the drug can  perform in its full capacity.&nbsp; A  patient can be prescribed the drug from 12 to 24 full weeks.<\/p><p>According to  researcher Thomas Moore from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices,  Chantix is actually a dangerous drug because it causes patients to feel  aggression, violence and even suicidal thoughts.<\/p><p>Moore states that  there should be regulation in the prescription of the drug.&nbsp; According to him, military personnel  and other similar armed professionals <em>should not <\/em>be given the drug given  the adverse reports of its side effects since its approval in 2006.<\/p><p>The first <em>documented, <\/em>adverse side effect of the drug was made in the year 2007 when a musician  from Dallas was shot down for displaying violent behavior toward his  girlfriend&rsquo;s neighbor.<\/p><p>Moore and fellow  researchers were able to gather a total of 78 adverse cases of side effects  from various sources, including reports sent to the US FDA.&nbsp; Among the 78 adverse side effects, the  researchers noted that <em>ten cases <\/em>involved serious assault, <em>nine cases <\/em>involved thoughts of committing homicide and <em>seven cases <\/em>involved  other types of violent thoughts.&nbsp;  The FDA advises anyone on the drug Chantix to <em>stop treatment <\/em>if  such feelings of aggression manifest during treatment.&nbsp; It is also advised that you visit your  physician if ever such side effects do occur during treatment.<\/p><p><strong>Natural smoking cessation strategies <\/strong><\/p><p>You don&rsquo;t have to  be dependent on smoking cessating drugs like Chantix or nicotine patches to  kick the smoking habit.&nbsp; Below are  natural strategies that can help you quit the habit.&nbsp; But the most important tool in your arsenal will still be  the genuine desire to quit smoking because <em>you want your health back.<\/em><\/p><p>1. A common  withdrawal symptom when a person stops smoking is hunger.&nbsp; This hunger is in part psychological  and part physiological.&nbsp; The body  is sending out a signal that it needs its next dose of nicotine.&nbsp; The body <em>doesn&rsquo;t need <\/em>nicotine  because it can produce its own natural chemicals to reward the body after a  hard day&rsquo;s work.&nbsp; If you feel  hungry after quitting smoking for a few hours, try drinking some water or  eating a small, healthy snack.&nbsp;  Avoid over-eating though, as this doesn&rsquo;t help the overall effort of  keeping yourself healthy throughout the quitting process.<\/p><p>2. Deal with the  emotional stress associated with smoking properly.&nbsp; The first step is to reach out to those who are closest to  you, like friends and loved ones.&nbsp;  It&rsquo;s okay to tell them that you feel angry or frustrated.&nbsp; Listen to them and allow them to  provide you comfort and emotional relief.&nbsp;  Also, learn how to de-stress properly. Remove yourself form isolation,  start exercising and keep yourself busy with doing something you <em>like. <\/em><\/p><p>3. Reach out to  other people like you who are also attempting to kick the habit for good.&nbsp; Online forums on smoking cessation are  free of charge and are full of folks who are in various stages of quitting.&nbsp; Simply joining the forums can provide  immense benefits because you can heart their stories and you will not feel as  if you are loneliest person in the world.<\/p><p>4. Do you feel  fatigued or physically tired because you&rsquo;ve quit smoking?&nbsp; Instead of getting a cigarette, try  resting. If you need to adjust your bedtime to sleep earlier, then that&rsquo;s a  good idea. Sleep is much better than bringing yourself back to square 1 of your  efforts.<\/p><p>5. Gradually reduce your number of cigarette sticks per day. Start with  small steps and gradually reduce your tobacco consumption by half.&nbsp;&nbsp; Then halve your current number of  sticks again, until you&rsquo;re down to two or one stick a day.&nbsp; By doing this, you are giving your body  time to readjust its chemical balance.&nbsp;  Going cold turkey rarely works, especially for first-time &lsquo;quitters&rsquo;.<\/p><p><strong>Sources: <\/strong><br><a title=\"webmd.com\" href=\"http:\/\/www.webmd.com\/smoking-cessation\/news\/20100727\/stop-smoking-aid-chantix-sparks-safety-concerns\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">webmd.com<\/a><br><a title=\"quitsmoking.about.com\" href=\"http:\/\/quitsmoking.about.com\/od\/cravingsandurges\/a\/halt.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">quitsmoking.about.com<\/a><br><a title=\"quitsmoking.about.com\" href=\"http:\/\/quitsmoking.about.com\/od\/support\/a\/nosubfortime.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">quitsmoking.about.com<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The FDA-approved drug Chantix may be causing more problems by producing adverse side effects like aggression, experts say. Smoking cessation is a big problem for dependent smokers. Withdrawal symptoms and nicotine cravings are two of the top reasons why many &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/longevity-medicine\/smoking-cessation-drug-chantix-may-cause-violent-behavior-experts-say.php\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"limit_modified_date":"","last_modified_date":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1246678],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1041639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-longevity-medicine"],"modified_by":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1041639"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1041639"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1041639\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1041639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1041639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1041639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}