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Benzos Cigarrette smoke and its effect on xanax... how long to wait after last cigarette?

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etard7007

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Feb 12, 2009
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I've searched around the threads and the internet and my question has kind of been answered but not really... mostly because the question is pretty specific. So any help would be great.

I was informed of this recently - the fact that cigarette smoke decreases the effect (or clears out faster from bloodstream) of benzos - becuase it excites the enzyme that breaks down most benzos... Ive been a smoker since I was 17, so about 5+ years... I've been on and off benzos for a few years... Ive only noticed a decrease in xanax's effects recently because I was prescribed them again and thus taking them daily...

I've been scripted clonazepam and alprazlolam for about 6 months now.... pretty recently, a friend noticed how much I was smoking (~ 3/4 pack a day) and told me about the decrease in its effects on benzos. I had no idea?!

I need a little help if anyone has any info. I was really surprised to discover this fact - I knew that tolerance was an issue, BUT I could not figure out why I needed such higher doses for the same effect with xanax. I'm glad to find that cigarette smoking is the culprit... but I have a few specific questions that I cant find answers to:


If you are a daily smoker, is the enzyme generally going to be excited and therefore the xanax is going to be affected no matter what until I stop smoking?

Or, is there a timeframe that I should wait after my last cigarette to take the xanax. Basically, how long does it take the for the effecting chemicals to clear from the system and stop exciting the enzymes? Of course, and then not smoke anymore the rest of the night...

OR, beforehand doesn't matter... Just once I take some xanax, any subsequent cigarette smoke is going to excite the enzyme and clear it from my system?

Im trying to quit smoking anyway, using an electronic cigarette to help... I've definitely cut down, but in terms of the xanax... I want to just smoke the electronic cigarette at night when I'm taking xanax and need it the most - to feel drowsy and calm down to sleep. So any info on how long after my last cigarette I should wait before taking xanax would be great... or rather, how long the cigarette smoke excites the enzyme generally - so I know when to have my last cig of the day. Or, if its going to screw with the bezos ALL day, which in that case I should try smoking the E-cig all day.

(Oh and last question. Does cigarette smoke affect the same enzyme that Tagamet and grapefruit juice inhibit? - would taking tagamet inhibition and cigarette smoke exciting the same enzyme cancel each other out?)
 
i have general anxiety disorder, i HAVE NO LUCK in finding a dr who will give me xanax. central nj doctors are tight asses!!!
 
etard7007 said:
I've been on and off benzos for a few years... Ive only noticed a decrease in xanax's effects recently because I was prescribed them again and thus taking them daily...I knew that tolerance was an issue, BUT I could not figure out why I needed such higher doses for the same effect with xanax.
Click to expand...

I would say tolerance is the issue.
Especially with Xanax, and especially taking them every day.
I think you would be having the same issues if you were a non-smoker.
 
one hit of a cig reduces my benzos efficacy by like 50% almost instantly. They've done a lot of studies on this, kinda old news that smoking cigs + benzos = less effective benzos.
 
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11524025

Many psychiatric patients smoke, and are believed to be heavier smokers than those without psychiatric disorders. Cigarette smoking is one of the environmental factors that contributes to interindividual variations in response to an administered drug. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) present in cigarette smoke induce hepatic aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylases, thereby increasing metabolic clearance of drugs that are substrates for these enzymes. PAHs have been shown to induce 3 hepatic cytochrome P450 (CYP) isozymes, primarily CYP1A1, 1A2 and 2E1. Drug therapy can also be affected pharmacodynamically by nicotine. The most common effect of smoking on drug disposition in humans is an increase in biotransformation rate, consistent with induction of drug-metabolising enzymes. Induction of hepatic enzymes has been shown to increase the metabolism and to decrease the plasma concentrations of imipramine, clomipramine, fluvoxamine and trazodone. The effect of smoking on the plasma concentrations of amitriptyline and nortriptyline is variable. Amfebutamone (bupropion) does not appear to be affected by cigarette smoking. Smoking is associated with increased clearance of tiotixene, fluphenazine, haloperidol and olanzapine. Plasma concentrations of chlorpromazine and clozapine are reduced by cigarette smoking. Clinically, reduced drowsiness in smokers receiving chlorpromazine, and benzodiazepines, compared with nonsmokers has been reported. Increased clearance of the benzodiazepines alprazolam, lorazepam, oxazepam, diazepam and demethyl-diazepam is found in cigarette smokers, whereas chlordiazepoxide does not appear to be affected by smoking. Carbamazepine appears to be minimally affected by cigarette smoke, perhaps because hepatic enzymes are already stimulated by its own autoinductive properties. Cigarette smoking can affect the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of many psychotropic drugs. Clinicians should consider smoking as an important factor in the disposition of these drugs.
Click to expand...
 
Yeah it was a shock when i found out as well... I definitely know that tolerance is playing a part. BUT it is a fact that cigarette smoke can decrease plasma concentrations of xanax up to 50%....

but thats the thing.. nothing ive researched has answered my question. It is definitely a FACT that not nicotine (so dip,chew, gum, ecigs, etc dont have a negative effect) cigarette smoke excites the enzyme that breaks down xanax....

but my question. is how long does a smoked cigarette excite the enzyme for? How long would I have to wait after my last cigarette to be able to take xanax without a decrease in effects? OR as i said before - since im a daily smoker, is it inevitable that the xanax will be cleared, even say like 5 hours after my last cigarette.

Meaning would my only option be to quit or switch to only smokeless method? Like does it take a day or something for the chemicals in the smoke to clear so that it wont affect the xanax?

On the Inverse, so it makes sense a bit better. It is generally known by benzo users that grapefruit juice/Tagamet inhibit the enzyme that breaks down benzos and therefore keeps the plasma concentrations in the bloodstream longer.
And in this case, one should either drink a glass of grapefruit juice or take some Tagamet about 45mins to an hour before ingesting the benzo, knlonopin or xanax in my case.

So, is the same for cigarette smoking? If I wait 1 hour after my last cigarette to take my xanax, will there be no decrease in effects? or would i have to wait much longer? i just want to know when my last cig should be before my dose of benzos... meaning ill just smoke the electronic cig for and STOP cigarette smoking, even 5 hours before taking any benzos if that were the timeframe. I want to quit completely anyway, but for now...

Thanks
 
While it's possible cigarettes cause your body to metabolize the benzos faster i highly doubt that the effect is significant enough for you to notice a huge difference. It's much more likely that simple tolerance to the drug is the culprit. If you think it is greatly effecting how much xanax you need (which i believe to be unlikely) you can try to cut back on how much you smoke. Cutting back how many cigarettes a day you smoke would be good for your health anyway, and it's not that difficult to do.

Try only smoking half a cigarette at a time. Put the smoke out halfway through and smoke the other half the next time you want a cigarette. This saves you money and decreases how much you're smoking. Unless you have a problem with keeping partially smoked cigarettes, which some people do because it smells.
 
My question is...Is it the nicotine that affects it or other things in cigarettes? The reason I'm asking is I have recently started vaping to lessen my need for cigarettes since the price of a pack is getting ridiculous!! Would the nicotine in my Vape juice also lessen the effect of my Xanax?
 
YKCoates said:
My question is...Is it the nicotine that affects it or other things in cigarettes? The reason I'm asking is I have recently started vaping to lessen my need for cigarettes since the price of a pack is getting ridiculous!! Would the nicotine in my Vape juice also lessen the effect of my Xanax?
Click to expand...

Yes, i vape heavily too.
 
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