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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards

which is worse for you cigarettes or Xanax?

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My doctors office has plenty off Effexor, Cymbalta / you name it pens, calendars, calculators ect...

I do agree smoking is probably worse for your health but if you get addicted to benzos which most of the time happens, especially with xanax, withdraws are alot more dangerous than cigarettes.

If you can keep it to an occasional thing then it would be fine, but thats how it started with me I got a script for temazepam, took it ONLY on comedowns every 2 weeks and before I knew it I was using it once a week in high doses, then tried ALOT of hypnotic benzos for sleep every night. I stopped the hypnotics after a good while, then I got prescribed every daytime benzo under the sun scripted to me, currently on daily 10mg valium for anxiety and have been stable 10mg valium for 2 years, I would stop taking it but I suffer from anxiety.
 
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Yeah.. that's why it is hard to compare the two. The long term risks of smoking vs the chance of having a fatal/damaging seizure withdrawing from Xanax..

Surgeries as a whole in the UK can be sent boxes of free stuff but the days of personal gifts to docs are long gone, and as I said with public healthcare the whole system is very different to the US.. Plus a free pen wouldn't be enough to convince anyone to prescribe one drug over another. I'd hope not, anyway! :)
 
To be clear, it's not being suggested that GlaxoSmithKline engages in such activities. But such practices are common within the pharmaceuticals industry. They are also lucrative for the individual doctor's involved. As the ABC Radio National's Background Briefing program reported in October last year, former pharmaceutical company representative Petra Helesic told of doctors - mainly specialists - being paid between $750 to $1,500 per presentation to deliver promotional presentations. The drug companies even dictated the topics and provided the PowerPoint slides to ensure the doctor stayed on message.

These 'education' sessions weren't always held in clinics, lecture halls or conference rooms. In some cases, they were held at Sydney's top restaurant where the assembled doctors were plied with free food and wine.

In Australia at least, pharmaceutical companies aren't obligated to report the amount spent on such activities. The Federal Government's most recent review of therapeutic goods regulations in 2011, which included promotional practices, concluded that pharmaceutical companies can regulate themselves when it comes to paying money to doctors.
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1st March 2012 http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/3861918.html

Monday, 2 May 2011 Big pharma’s big reveal: GSK will tell what it pays doctors
http://www.crikey.com.au/2011/05/02/big-pharmas-big-reveal-gsk-will-tell-what-it-pays-doctors/
 
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Yeah it must be, doctors definitely can't receive cash from pharm companies.. you'd be struck off the general medical register! That's just terrible, profit and healthcare are such a bad mix :(
 
I guess that depends on what you prefer; lung problems and a shorter life expectancy, or anxiety, insomnia, tremors, and various psychological problems.
 
gloeek said:
Not really. Cigarettes are ALWAYS bad for your health. Xanax CAN be bad for your health as can any drug.
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Methamphetamine is S-II in the US - and people get Rx'd that.

Now, tell me cigs are worse than meth.
 
crOOk said:
Where did you pull that very bold and arguably insulting information out of? Your ass?
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Lol! So you know how the USA med system works?
Just some of the companies ADMITTIN to payin drs www.projects.propublica.org/docdollars/companies
Www.nytimes.com/2012/01/23/opinion/when-the-drug-maker-pays-the-doctor.html
Seein as how you're such an expert on our drs-pharma relationships, have a read:
Www.google.com/m?q=pharma+company+pays+doctors
Maybe read a lil before puttin your foot in your mouth ;)
 
Ah, but I'm such a pro at that! (putting my foot in my mouth, I mean, haha) ;)

I know you didn't mean me, but had to. :p
 
ciggs hands down. i personally hate smoking, but i still do it from time to time. if i don't smoke for a while i can catch a buzz off of a cigg which goes nicely with a cup of joe, or it can even things out when i;m piss drunk
 
I'd say they're equally damaging, but of course cancer is fatal.

Cigarettes destroy your body, Xanax destroys your mind

Cigarettes is much worse than methamphetamine, especially considering the tiny dose (5mg) Desoxyn comes in (i'm prescribed it)
 
Arent seizures potentially life threatning though? So you get addicted to the xannies and by say age 25 you have to stop CT on a high dose, have a full blown grand mal that could be potentially life threatning? So you could die at age 25 as opposed to say a slow death from cigarettes.
 
What do you mean by worse?

Withdrawal worse? If so, Xanax.

Health worse? If so, smoking, but you'll have to do it for 20 years religiously.


Personally I've found that cigarettes are only mildly addictive physically, it's a habitual psyhological addiction. That is all.

Xanax can be addictive psychologically as well, but physically just the same and the physical side is the bastard you REALLY need to worry about, or in the very least the one you'll notice immediately. You can be tapered onto valium and taper off with little discomfort provided you didn't need them for anxiety in the first place. If you needed them for anxiety, you will experience rebound anxiety because your medicine is being taken away from you.

I've ten years experience with both of these habits, I've yet to kick either and couldn't care less. I live for the day, and am not particularly worried about dying anytime soon. If I get ten more years I'll be surprised, and if I don't I won't be upset. Call me a fatalist.
 
tricomb said:
I'd say they're equally damaging, but of course cancer is fatal.

Cigarettes destroy your body, Xanax destroys your mind

Cigarettes is much worse than methamphetamine, especially considering the tiny dose (5mg) Desoxyn comes in (i'm prescribed it)
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Does the Desoxyn do the same thing street meth does, ie: screwin up ur teeth, makin u a nervous wreck, etc?
I'm goin to be gettin some rx'd and was curious. Thanks!
 
they are both dangerous in their own regard.... both are very addictive substances however you can't get cancer from xanax as far as i know, it doesn't cause problems wih your arteries that can lead to heaart failure... on the other hand i believe benzos affect your brain, damaging memory for exmple, whereas ciggs have no effect on the brain...
 
^ very true, although cigarettes do increase your risk of strokes as well.

Lou was right when he said "apples and oranges". There are risks for both, but different sort of risks and it is very hard to compare as they are so different and also because a risk is just that - it is not a certainty. However, you would be very lucky to escape completely intact from a long term daily smoking habit; you'd also be lucky not to struggle with addiction if your benzo use becomes a lot more regular.

I'm going to close this now as I think it's been covered pretty thoroughly but feel free to shoot me a pm if you have any queries :)
 
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