西部落：最佳戒烟法（在线收听）

Every week we receive several emails about our next topic: smoking and how to quit. We all know people who struggle with this. Well, here is one email form Mary in Desert Hot Springs, California, she writes: I have tried for 20 years to stop smoking. What is the best thing to use? I have tried them all. Well new hope for smokers who want to kick the habit, this week the FDA gave approval to the smoking cessation drug called Doctor, Cantex? Is that corret? (Chantex), Chantex! (Ya) What is your advice on this new drug?

Well, it is too, er, too soon to tell, um, it works in a, in a different way. It...it when you smoke, er, the nicotine in the tobacco goes to certain receptor cells in the brain and that's... and once it gets to the brain it gives you these pleasurable effects or whatever. Er, this new drug blocks those…binds to those receptors in the brain so that when you smoke, the nicotine can't get to the brain, to those cells, ‘coz they've already been taken up by the Chantex and you don't, don't get any effect of the, (the rush), yes, of the nicotine in the brain. And that also, this drug is said also to reproduce some of the er, some of the er, effects of, of nicotine. So it's a double-edged thing. They found that er, people who were... it, it's a twelve-week course. You take one pill a day for 12 weeks and if it works in those 12 weeks, you can continue it for another 12 weeks. So it's a 24-week period of one pill a day. After one year, they found that about 20% of people who, who have been treated that way will stop smoking. Well that's better than nothing, it's not much.

Let me show you some of the other ways that you can consider to, er, to er, stop smoking. There's a pill called, er, er, as, well, Zirebine, not Wellbutrin, Zirebine, it's called bupropion, er, we don't know how it works but it is as effective as Chantex, but it works in a different way, so Zirebine doesn't work, try chantex which will be available later next year. Then you know there's will power, and there are don'ts (Sure) keep away from smokers if you are trying to quit because the smoking environment, you know, weakens your will and so on. But er, this Chantex is an exciting thing. It may help people who haven't responded to anything else.

Hypnosis? What do you think of that?

You know I know people who have been cured by hypnosis, and I think that it is a, a certainly worth trying if you have, you know, if you are vulnerable to suggestion er, you may very well respond/ to hypnosis. Yes, it's a good idea, I'm glad you brought it up.

Well, I certainly hope that / can help people. If you have questions, any type of medical question for Dr. Rosenfeld, please send your emails to him. Here's the address housecall, one word, [email protected]. Please keep your questions brief and include your name and state.