Champix

• Aid for giving up smoking.
  
  

• This medicine might make you feel dizzy or sleepy and so could impair your ability to perform potentially hazardous tasks such as driving or operating machinery. You should avoid driving or operating machinery until you know how this medicine affects you and are sure that it won’t affect your ability to perform such activities safely.
  
  
• There have been reports of suicidal thoughts or behaviour in people taking this medicine to help them give up smoking. It is very difficult to know if this is due to the medicine, as giving up smoking itself can make people depressed, especially if they already have a mental health problem, and depression is associated with suicidal thoughts. However, not all people experiencing depression and suicidal thoughts while taking this medicine had a previous history of psychiatric illness or had stopped smoking. For this reason, if you begin to feel agitated or depressed, or have any changes in your behaviour or thoughts about suicide or harming yourself while taking this medicine, you should stop taking it and consult your doctor immediately.
  
  
• Some people may find that when they stop taking this medicine their urge to smoke returns. They may also feel irritable, depressed or have difficulty sleeping. To avoid this, your doctor may consider reducing your dose slowly when you finish treatment with this medicine, rather than stopping it abruptly. Discuss this with your doctor.
  
  

• Decreased kidney function.
  
  
• History of psychiatric illness, eg depression.
  
  
• Epilepsy.
  
  

• Pregnancy.
  
  
• This medicine is not recommended for children and adolescents under 18 years of age, as there is no information regarding its safety and efficacy in this age group.
  
  

• The safety of this medicine for use during pregnancy has not been established. It should not be used by pregnant women. Seek further medical advice from your doctor.
  
  
• It is not known if this medicine passes into breast milk, but it is possible that it may. As a result, it is not recommended for mothers who are breastfeeding. If you have been unable to give up smoking using any other method, you should discuss with your doctor whether it may be appropriate to stop breastfeeding in order to try this medicine. This will depend on factors such as the importance of breastfeeding to the child, how much smoke the child is being exposed to and how likely this medicine is to help you stop smoking. Seek medical advice from your doctor.
  
  

• Nausea.
  
  
• Headache.
  
  
• Difficulty sleeping (insomnia).
  
  
• Abnormal dreams.
  
  
• Sleepiness.
  
  
• Dizziness.
  
  
• Change in taste.
  
  
• Dry mouth.
  
  
• Disturbances of the gut such as constipation, diarrhoea, vomiting, abdominal discomfort, indigestion, flatulence.
  
  
• Changes in appetite.
  
  
• Airway infections.
  
  
• Mood swings.
  
  
• Changes in sex drive.
  
  
• Tremor.
  
  
• Restlessness.
  
  
• Awareness of your heart beat (palpitations).
  
  
• Skin reactions such as rash or itching.
  
  
• Increased urination.
  
  
• Chest pain.
  
  
• Increased blood pressure.
  
  

• clozapine
  
  
• dextropropoxyphene
  
  
• flecainide
  
  
• fluvoxamine
  
  
• olanzapine
  
  
• pentazocine
  
  
• phenylbutazone
  
  
• some benzodiazepines, eg oxazepam
  
  
• some beta-blockers, eg propranolol
  
  
• tacrine
  
  
• theophylline
  
  
• tricyclic antidepressants, such as imipramine
  
  
• warfarin.