Smoking - Medicines To Help You
You are a woman.
You are a smoker.
You are not alone. Approximately 18% of adult women smoke. More than half of all smokers want to quit. There is help.
Read this guide … even if you are not ready to quit now. Learn more about products and medicines to help you quit smoking. Read tips to help you make a quit smoking plan that may work for you. Use this guide to help you talk to your pharmacist or doctor.
Why is it so hard to quit?
Many people who smoke become addicted to a chemical called nicotine in cigarettes and other tobacco products. If you try to stop smoking, you might crave cigarettes, feel nervous, feel irritable (cranky), have headaches, or have trouble sleeping. These are signs of withdrawal. There are products you can try that may help you quit. You can buy some of these products at your local drug store. You need a prescription from your doctor for the other medicines. There are different kinds of medicines to help you quit smoking:
* Nicotine Replacement Products
* Other Medicines to Help You Quit
Why Quit?
Everyone knows that smoking is bad for your health. In fact, lung cancer kills more women than breast cancer. Did you know that if you quit smoking you may improve your health right away? Quitting may improve your skin, reduce bad breath, and make your hair smell better.
The Same Day You Quit
Your blood pressure will go down
Within a Month
Your circulation (blood flow) will get better
Your breathing may improve
Within a Year
Your risk of heart disease will be half the risk of someone who smokes
Overall, your chance of dying of lung cancer will be less if you quit. Your chance of getting other kinds of cancer like throat, kidney or bladder cancer will also go down.
Smoking and Your Health
* Some medicines work differently when you quit smoking. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about all of the medicines you are taking.
* Postmenopausal women who smoke raise their chances of having weak bones.
Smoking and Birth Control
* Women who smoke may have serious reactions to their birth control.
* Women who smoke while using birth control raise their chances of having a stroke, heart problems, or blood clots. This problem can affect any woman but it is more likely in women over age 35.
Always tell your doctor or nurse that you smoke when you go to get your birth control.
Smoking and Pregnancy
Smoking harms the health of women and their babies.
* Women who smoke may have problems getting pregnant.
* Women who smoke are more likely to have premature, stillborn, or low birth weight babies.
* Women who smoke put their babies at risk for SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) -- a condition that causes a baby to stop breathing.
* Babies exposed to smoking may be more likely to have asthma or ear infections.
Try to quit smoking before you become pregnant. If you find out that you are pregnant, talk to your doctor right away about safe ways that you can quit smoking.
Quit Smoking Tips
1. Set a Quit Date and Make a Plan
* Pick a day you want to quit
* Talk to your pharmacist or doctor
* Plan how to handle situations where others are smoking
* Remove cigarettes from your home, car, and office
2. Get Help
* Tell your friends and family that you are quitting
* Join a support group
* Call a quit smoking helpline
3. Deal with Cravings and Withdrawal
* Try nicotine replacement products or medicines
* Exercise to reduce stress
* Start a hobby to keep your mind off smoking
4. Plan for Setbacks
* Do not give up. Try again.
* Think about what worked and what did not work.
* Talk to friends who have quit
For more information to help you quit smoking
www.smokefree.gov
1-800-QUITNOW
1-800-784-8669
TTY: 1-800-332-8615
National Cancer Institute
1-877-448-7848
www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/tobacco
Nicotine Replacement Products
Product Type Product Name Availability
Patch Habitrol
Nicoderm
Store Brand or Generic Over-the-Counter
Gum Nicorette
Store Brand or Generic Over-the-Counter
Nasal Spray Nicotrol Prescription
Inhaler Nicotrol Prescription
Lozenge Commit
Store Brand or Generic Over-the-Counter
How They Work
Nicotine replacement products give your body nicotine without the other chemicals found in cigarettes and other tobacco products. These products help you wean your body off cigarettes. Nicotine Replacement products should be used for a short time to help you deal with withdrawal. Read the label and talk to your pharmacist or doctor about the right way to use each product.
Like any medicine, nicotine replacement products may cause some side effects. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about your specific risks. Check the next page for general warnings about using these products.
What else should I know about Nicotine Replacement Products?
Warnings
* Do not smoke, chew tobacco, use snuff, or use any other product containing nicotine while using any nicotine replacement product.
* Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should only use these products if their doctor says that it is OK.
* Talk to your doctor before using these products if you have diabetes, heart disease, asthma, or stomach ulcers.
* Talk to your doctor before using these products if you have had a recent heart attack or have high blood pressure but are not taking medicine.
Common Side Effects
The side effects are different for each product.
Ask your pharmacist or doctor to tell you about all of the side effects and risks for each product.
You can also check the FDA website for more information of each product. Go to: Drugs@FDA.
Danger Signs
Stop use and call your doctor if you have any of these signs:
* Nausea (upset stomach)
* Dizziness
* Weakness
* Vomiting
* Fast or irregular heartbeat
* Mouth or throat problems
* Redness or swelling of the skin around the patch that does not go away
Other Medicines to Help You Quit
Product Type Brand Name Generic Name Availability
Pill Zyban Bupropion Prescription
Warnings
* Do not take this medicine if you have or had a seizure disorder or epilepsy.
* Do not take this medicine if you are also taking Wellbutrin or other medicines containing Bupropion.
* Do not take this medicine if you drink a lot of alcohol or stop drinking all of a sudden.
* Do not take this medicine if you take medicines called sedatives that make you sleepy.
* Do not take this medicine if you have taken within the last 14 days medicines for depression called MAOI.
* Talk to your doctor before using this medicine if you have kidney disease, bipolar disorder, liver disease, high blood pressure, or an eating disorder.
* Talk to your doctor if you have kidney, heart, or liver problems, high blood pressure, mental health problems, or diabetes.
* Tell your doctor if you are breastfeeding, pregnant or planning to get pregnant.
Common Side Effects
* Dry Mouth
* Problems Sleeping
* Nausea (upset stomach)
* Constipation
* Vomiting
* Dizziness
* Blurred Vision
If you have a seizure while taking Zyban, stop taking the tablets and call your doctor right away. Do not take Zyban again if you have a seizure.
What else should I know about Zyban?
Some people who take Zyban have had serious changes in their mood and behavior. These changes can happen while you are taking Zyban or after you stop taking it.
Stop use and call a doctor right away if you notice these changes in yourself or someone else taking this medicine.
* Think about dying or killing yourself
* Try to kill yourself
* Feel depressed or your depression gets worse
* Feel anxious or your anxiety gets worse
* Have panic attacks
* Have trouble sleeping (insomnia)
* Feel very agitated or restless
* Feel irritable
* Feel or act aggressive, angry or violent
* Act on dangerous impulses
* Talk or act more than you typically do (mania)
* Have thoughts or sensations that are not typical for you
* See or hear things that are not there (hallucinations)
* Fell like people are against you (paranoia)
* Feel confused
* Notice other changes in your behavior or mood that are not typical for you
Before taking this medicine, tell your doctor if you have ever had depression or other mental health problems. You should also tell your doctor about any symptoms you had during other times you tried to quit smoking.
Other Medicines to Help You Quit
Product Type Brand Name Generic Name Availability
Pill Chantix Varenicline Tartrate Prescription
Warnings
* Tell you doctor if you have ever had depression or other mental health problems.
* Tell your doctor if you have kidney problems or if you are on kidney dialysis.
* Tell your doctor if you have any allergies.
* Tell your doctor if you are breastfeeding (nursing).
* Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.
* Tell your doctor if you take insuling, asthma medicines, or blood thinners.
Common Side Effects
* Nausea (upset stomach)
* Sleep Problems (trouble sleeping or strange dreams)
* Constipation
* Gas
* Vomiting
What else should I know about Chantix?
Some people who take Chantix have had serious changes in their mood or behavior. These changes can happen while you are taking Chantix or after you stop taking it.
Stop use and call a doctor right away if you notice these changes in yourself or someone else taking this medicine.
* Think about dying or killing yourself
* Try to kill yourself
* Feel depressed or your depression gets worse
* Feel anxious or your anxiety gets worse
* Have panic attacks
* Have trouble sleeping (insomnia)
* Feel very agitated or restless
* Feel irritable
* Feel or act aggressive, angry or violent
* Act on dangerous impulses
* Talk or act more than you typically do (mania)
* Have thoughts or sensations that are not typical for you
* See or hear things that are not there (hallucinations)
* Feel like people are against you (paranoia)
* Feel confused
* Notice other changes in your behavior or mood that are not typical for you
Before taking this medicine, tell your doctor if you have ever had depression or other mental health problems. You should also tell your doctor about any symptoms you had during other times you tried to quit smoking.
You can also check the FDA website for more information of each medicine to help you quit smoking. Go to: Drugs@FDA.
This information reflects FDA's current analysis of data available to FDA concerning these products. FDA intends to update this sheet when additional information or analyses become available.
Check the following website for the most recent information about each drug: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/drugsatfda/
7/09
Contact Us
*
Office of Women's Health
* 301-827-0350
* 301-827-0926 (Fax)
5600 Fishers Lane, HF-8
Rockville, MD 20857
