Stop Smoking and as a Bonus, Quit Drinking Too? New Study Finds Link
A popular stop-smoking drug may also reduce the urge to drink alcohol in some people, a newly released medical study has found.
Varenicline, the smoking cessation drug sold in the United States under the brand name Chantix, appears to have the added benefit of curbing the urge for alcohol, according to researchers from Yale University. However, Chantix is the same drug that has been widely blamed for causing aggressive behavior and suicides among people looking to kick their smoking habits, so the encouraging study findings should be taken with caution.
Study Focuses on Heavy Drinkers, Smokers
For the study, researchers focused on 20 adults who smoked at least 10 cigarettes a day and drank between seven and 14 alcoholic drinks per week, with at least one day of three to four drinks during the week. Participants were divided into two groups — one given Chantix and one given placebo pills – and watched for one week. Researchers then gave participants in both groups one drink and offered them more drinks, up to eight over a period of two hours.
People taking Chantix were less likely to take the additional drinks and consumed just one-half of a drink compared to the other group, who took, on average, 2.6 drinks. Eighty percent of the people in the Chantix group did not drink at all, compared to just 30 percent in the placebo group, the study found.
Connection Not Understood
Researchers did not come to a firm conclusion about the connection between the smoking cessation drug and curbing alcohol drinking, but the two activities often go hand-in-hand. For example, smokers are far more likely to suffer from alcohol-related disorders and diseases stemming from smoking are more common in alcoholics, researchers said.
It is suspected that varenicline reduces the desire to smoke and drink by similarly working on receptors in the brain that stimulate the chemical dopamine.
Also, since the study focused on heavy drinkers, it is not known how Chantix might work on people who only casually drink alcohol. Further studies are needed to test the study’s findings on other groups of people, according to the researchers.
Chantix Has Its Risks
As mentioned above, Chantix has a history of causing violent, aggressive, and suicidal thoughts and behavior in people. In November 2007, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration launched an investigation into reports of such behavior, bizarre dreams, and other episodes from Chantix users.
In one high-profile case which for many came to symbolize the concerns about Chantix side effects, Carter Albrecht, a Texas musician and former guitarist for Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, was shot and killed by a friend in 2007 while trying to break into the friend’s home late at night. Friends and family said the encounter was totally out of character for Albrecht and blamed Chantix for causing his violent outburst which lead to his death.
Then, in May 2008, the Federal Aviation Administration barred its pilots and air traffic controllers from working while on Chantix due to concerns about violent and irrational behavior in some people taking the drug.
Proceed With Caution on Chantix
As tempting as it may seem to in essence kill two birds with one stone and kick a smoking habit along with a drinking habit, the involvement of Chantix in the newly released Yale study is troubling. The drug has been documented to produce bizarre and violent side effects in hundreds of users, so the fact that it is at the center of the stop-drinking study should prompt people to be careful about starting the drug to stop smoking or curb the desire to drink.
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Why not mention that Carter Albrecht was extremely inebriate at the time of the incident in which he was tragically killed?
I’ve found Chantix to be by far the best stop-smoking product available and I’ve never suffered any side effects of note.