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Friday, August 29, 2014

Determined to give up smoking

Like most smokers I've wanted to give up for quite some time. Since the late 1970s I've made innumerable attempts to give up. Usually I've lasted no more than a few hours, occasionally a few days.

I've tried nearly everything from cold turkey,  hypnosis, nicotine patches, nicotine gum, Zyban and Champix.

The longest I ever managed to give up was for about a week, about 11 years ago. That was with the aid of a medicine called Zyban. For reasons I don't know Zyban is now no longer recommended and Champix is the preferred alternative. I did try champix a few years back without great success, but this time I am pretty determined.

My memory was that with Champix you were supposed to give up about 2 weeks into the course and I've registered with Quit line with a smoking succession date of 13 August. I've had the prescription filled and discovered that I'm supposed to quit some time in the second week of taking Champix. I've now redefined my quit date in my head.

Champix starter tablets are about the size of a grain of uncooked long-grain rice and about as easy to swallow. A large glass of water and some food is required to get them down.


This entry is actually being written on October 10 2014, attempting to reconstruct in my mind how I felt in late August.

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