Champix 30 Day Trial - The Stop Smoking Drug

I have been smoking and vaping on and off for the last 16 years. I am 32 years old now and every puff I take has me battling myself internally. For those of you on this same journey, you know exactly what I mean. You want to stop, but you also don't want to. This is the constant battle smokers go through and it sucks. So instead of fighting myself, I thought I would give my "want to stop" self the edge with a little drug called Champix. 

Champix is not a nicotine replacement, which is the first reason I chose it. The addictive substance in cigarettes is nicotine and I had already substituted cigarettes with vaping on many occasions, only to buy cigarettes when my battery in the vape had died and I couldn't charge my device. This proved to me that it did not matter what I was smoking, whether it was cigarettes or the vape, I was still addicted to nicotine. Champix works by making the whole experience of smoking less pleasant. It makes you more aware of how disgusting cigarettes actually taste and in my experience, by day 10, can start making you feel physically sick every time you smoke a cigarette. Day 10 is also when I started feeling very tired during the day and found myself taking power naps to counter the feeling. 

One thing to note is that this drug is not cheap. The first two weeks cost me £49, and the next 4 weeks cost me £72.90. Pfizer, the maker of Champix recommends that you complete a 12 week course. If you really think about it, buying cigarettes costs a lot more than this in the same time period if you are a 10-20 a day smoker. 

The instructions recommend that you set a quit date for somewhere between day 8 and day 14. I set mine at day 10 and revised it to day 13 when I failed to stop due to having a few more cigarettes still to go through before the box was finished. They do say that you still need to exercise will power to aid you in quitting, and this is true for this drug. The drug alone will not make you stop smoking. The drug helps you 50% of the way. The other 50% is mental effort. You have to think positively about quitting for every craving that you encounter. I kept telling myself that the withdrawal symptoms definitely could not be worse than the feelings you get by smoking while on Champix. I stopped smoking on day 12. I stayed smoke free for 2 days.

I did however hit a stumbling block. As I mentioned earlier, I started feeling very tired while on this drug from day 10. I thought it was just my body getting used to the higher dosages of Champix, but it got worse the more I took it. It does state on the packet that the drug may make you feel sleepy. It also caused my vision to start going blurry leading up to the two week mark. Unfortunately, this was a dealbreaker for me. I need to be mentally and physically sharp for work and my vision is something I am not willing to give up. I often work with heavy machinery that can kill you. It's just not worth it for me to go another 2 weeks under the effects of this drug if it could potentially cause me to injure myself. They do say that these effects only affect 1 in 1000 people. I suppose I am that unlucky number 1. But it is important to note that if you do try this drug and you start feeling tired within the first 2 weeks of the starter pack, I wouldn't recommend spending any money on the continuation packs because that feeling does not go away.

Verdict

⭐⭐⭐

For me, this product is worthy of 3 stars. It is very clear about what it does and it does work for some people. I could not continue with the course because it would have affected my safety at work and for that reason, I do not know if it would have completely helped me kick the habit. For anyone thinking about trying this drug to help them stop smoking and you're worried about suffering the same fatigue and blurred vision that I did, try out the starter pack which lasts 2 weeks. They do say it only affects 1 in 1000 people. If you get through the starter pack fine, then you should be fine with the continuation packs. If not, I wouldn't recommend spending all that money on the continuation packs. The fatigue does not go away while on the drug.