Description
Champix (Varenicline) is a medicine developed to help smokers to stop smoking. Varenicline mimics the effect of nicotine on the body & therefore it both reduces the urge to smoke and relieves withdrawal symptoms. The precise action of varenicline is that it interferes with the receptors in the brain that nicotine stimulates. (The nicotine in cigarettes attaches to receptors in brain cells to stimulate part of the brain – this is how nicotine has its effect.) What varenicline does is to partly stimulate the nicotine receptors. This mimics the effects of nicotine, to reduce cravings and withdrawal effects when you stop smoking. However, at the same time, it partially blocks the receptors and prevents nicotine from attaching to the receptors. This blocks or blunts the effect of nicotine in people who give in to temptation and have a cigarette.
How effective is varenicline?
Varenicline does increase the chance of quitting smoking. Some studies have looked at this issue. The studies compared varenicline to a dummy (placebo) tablet in people who were keen to stop smoking. The results from the studies showed that, on average, about 21 in 100 people who took varenicline successfully stopped smoking. This compared to about 8 in 100 who took the dummy (placebo) tablets. In other words, taking varenicline more than doubled the rate of success.