Champix (varenicline tartrate) is a widely prescribed oral medication classified as a smoking cessation pharmacotherapy. It helps smokers fight nicotine addiction, and the short-term therapy ultimately aims to get the smoker to give up smoking.
Several clinics already give patients the option to buy Champix online—starter packs, continuation packs, and full course packs are available for the patients’ convenience. But the primary question is, is Champix worth buying? How effective is it as a smoking cessation therapy? Can it help individuals abstain from smoking long after the treatment course has ended?
To best answer these questions, it is important to take a look at the results of controlled clinical trials. Here are the data and statistics that show the truth about Champix’s performance as an aid to quitting smoking.
What is Champix’s success rate in helping patients quit smoking? How does it compare with other smoking cessation therapies?
Two main studies have evaluated the response of 2,052 smokers to a 12-week smoking cessation therapy program. The smokers were divided into three groups: one group received Champix, another was treated with bupropion (another smoking cessation drug), and another group was given placebo (a substance without therapeutic effect).
The results of both studies showed that Champix was the most effective therapy in aiding patients to quit smoking. Between weeks 9 and 12 of the trial, 44% of the group treated with Champix had totally ceased smoking (findings were confirmed by lab tests). It was the highest success rate among all groups, compared to bupropion (30% success) and placebo (18% success).
How effective is Champix in maintaining smoking abstinence?
In the above study, the patients were reevaluated after another 40 weeks following the end of their therapy. Again, Champix emerged as having the highest rate of maintaining abstinence among the patients, with 23% of the group remaining non-smokers at the time of follow-up. Bupropion returned a 16% abstinence rate, while placebo showed 9% of the group did not revert to their smoking habit.
Is extended therapy with Champix recommended?
The standard treatment course of Champix runs for 12 weeks, but a number of clinical trials have shown evidence that an extension period of another 12 weeks (for a total of 24 weeks of therapy) leads to higher rates of continued abstinence from smoking. A study showed that 70% of those who received Champix treatment for a total of 24 weeks retained smoking abstinence, higher than the 50% abstinence rate showed by those who received the standard 12-week therapy.
Are there any adjunct therapies recommended for Champix?
Yes. It is recommended that Champix therapy be supplemented with a counseling and smoking cessation support program for the best chances of success. Counseling in itself is already a good smoking cessation technique, but a meta-analysis has shown that the combination of counseling and Champix therapy produced more than double the abstinence rate compared to that of counseling alone. Thus it is advised that smokers undergoing Champix therapy be also enrolled in a quit-smoking support and counseling program to maximize therapy success.
Now with these studies showing hard evidence as to Champix’s effectiveness as a smoking cessation aid, you can confidently buy Champix online and take them as prescribed. Coupled with your resolve to quit and the support of people around you, Champix provides you the best chance of succeeding at finally breaking the smoking habit.