“I started smoking when I was 12. The first time I quit was at age 21 and it lasted about 8 years, until I married a smoker. I quit again for one year at age 50. I foolishly thought I could smoke one cigarette without succumbing again. Both of those times I just quit cold turkey with no aids or support group. At age 75, wanting very much to stop permanently, I obtained a prescription for Chantix from my personal physician. Whether it was the Chantix or my belief in it, or whatever, I had no trouble quitting that time. From the very beginning, I have experienced only the occasional, mild impulse to smoke and have resisted relatively easily.

One of the recognized dangers or side effects of Chantix is mood change, depression, and/or suicidal tendency. I began to experience those feelings late in the second month of the Chantix regime and chose to stop its use after two months of the planned three month treatment. That was over three years ago and the urges to smoke have continued to decrease in both frequency and intensity.”