A new stop smoking drug:
- Drug maker Pfizer Inc. said Wednesday that the Food and Drug Administration will give a priority review to its stop-smoking medication.
A priority review means the FDA will review the drug’s marketing application within six months rather than the standard 10. Pfizer said the six-month period will begin when the agency determines the application is sufficiently complete for review.
The drug to be reviewed is varenicline tartrate, which the company plans to market as Champix. The compound is intended to activate the brain receptor that is stimulated by nicotine, thereby easing withdrawal symptoms.
The company said the most common side effects of varenicline include nausea, headache, trouble sleeping and abnormal dreams. A company spokesperson characterized abnormal dreams as being longer or unusually vivid.
A few years ago I pulled off the interstate in Knoxville. Stuck to a post at the bottom of the exit ramp was a sign. It contained a startling medical revelation. It said:Stop Smoking Now!! This patch will let you STOP SMOKING and LOSE WEIGHT at the same time! And then the phone number. Now what type of patch would let you lose weight and stop smoking at the same time. Don’t most of our patients complain that they gain weight if they try to quit smoking?
But then I figured it out.
Stop Smoking.
Lose weight.
At the same time.
With a patch.
And cheap, too.
Duct tape.
Apply PO (over mouth). Reapply prn.
But those dreams do sound pretty cool.
