Health officials in the federal government are urging smokers to use Chantix as part of their efforts to stop smoking - despite the drug’s association to suicidal thoughts and behavior.  New smoking cessation guidelines, published by the US Public Health Service, do note that Chantix has been linked with suicide and other psychiatric side effects.  But they promote the Pfizer drug as the method most likely to help smokers wanting to quit.  The new guidelines are creating controversy, not only because of the strong Chantix recommendation, but also due to the fact that their lead author,  Dr. Michael Fiore, has ties to Pfizer.

Chantix, approved in the US in 2006, works by blocking nicotine receptors to the brain. Chantix is the first such nicotine receptor partial agonist approved by the FDA. It was heralded as an alternative to other smoking cessation drugs and nicotine replacement therapy. (more…)

Suicide is common in the US, representing the fourth leading cause of death for those aged 18 to 65 and the third leading cause for those aged 15 to 24.  Add to those figures the complexity of medications.  In recent years, disturbing reports have suggested that  side effects of some popular drugs - such as Chantix, Accutane, Singular and Paxil - include suicidal thoughts and behavior.

Reports have been filed with drug makers and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on at least six drugs or drug classes that may be linked to suicide or suicidal thoughts.  Recently, the FDA released notices about several such medications including Singlulair; Epilepsy drugs including carbamazepine, gabapentin, felbamate, lamotrigine, levetiracetam, oxcarbazepine, pregabalin, and valproate; and the smoking-cessation drug Chantix.  Reports have been filed on SSRI antidepressants including Paxil and Prozac, the influenza drug Tamiflu, and the acne medicine Accutane.   “The brain is a complex organ, and most of the drugs are complex as well,’’ says Dr. Thomas Laughren, head of the division of psychiatric products at the FDA.  “It’s not unreasonable to think that a drug that gets into the brain may have effects other than you hope they would.’’ (more…)

Chantix, the anti-smoking drug marketed by Pfizer, Inc., has been linked to 107 adverse reactions in Canada.  According to the country’s regulatory agency, Health Canada, nearly half of those reports involved psychiatric behavior.  In fact, at least seven people in that country - where Chantix is sold as Champix - became suicidal while taking the drug.  Though Pfizer recently modified the Chantix label to make information on psychiatric side effects more prominent, Health Canada said it saw no reason at this time to issue a Champix public health advisory.  Such an advisory was issued by the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in February.

Chantix, approved in the US in 2006, works by blocking nicotine receptors to the brain. Chantix is the first such nicotine receptor partial agonist approved by the FDA. It was heralded as an alternative to other smoking cessation drugs and nicotine replacement therapy. (more…)

Chantix, the smoking cessation drug linked to suicidal behavior and other psychiatric problems, should bear the Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA) strongest safety warning, the consumer group Public Citizen says. Earlier this year, warnings of suicide and other behavioral problems seen in some Chantix users were given more prominent placement on the drug’s label, but Public Citizen says those warnings are still not strong enough, and wants the FDA to require they be highlighted by a “black box”.

Chantix, made by Pfizer Inc., was approved in 2006. Chantix works by blocking nicotine receptors to the brain, and was the first such nicotine receptor partial agonist approved by the FDA. It was heralded as an alternative to other smoking cessation drugs and nicotine replacement therapy. But soon after it was approved, some Chantix users began exhibiting signs of depression, suicidal thoughts and behavior, and other psychiatric problems. (more…)

Chantix, the anti-smoking drug made by Pfizer, was the subject of a Food & Drug Administration (FDA) suicide warning today. Today’s FDA warning follows a Nov. 20, 2007, FDA Early Communication to the public and health care providers that the agency was evaluating postmarketing adverse event reports on Chantix related to changes in behavior, agitation, depressed mood, suicidal ideation, and actual suicidal behavior.

Chantix, approved in 2006, works by blocking nicotine receptors to the brain. Chantix is the first such nicotine receptor partial agonist approved by the FDA. It was heralded as an alternative to other smoking cessation drugs and nicotine replacement therapy.

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Chantix has been linked to a second suicide in the United Kingdom, just days after Pfizer announced that the stop smoking drug would bear stronger warnings regarding depression and suicide in the US. According to an article in the UK Daily Mail, a 36-year-old welder from Rossington in the UK hung himself shortly after completing a 13 week course of Champix –as Chantix is called in Britain. His death comes just months after Chantix was implicated in the suicide of a 39-year-old British TV producer who ended his life while being treated with Chantix.

Chantix, approved in the US in 2006, works by blocking nicotine receptors to the brain. Chantix is the first such nicotine receptor partial agonist approved by the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA). It was heralded as an alternative to other smoking cessation drugs and nicotine replacement therapy. Prior to Pfizer’s announcement last week that it would be adding new warnings to the US version,, the Chantix package insert stated that psychotic and suicidal behavior were potential side effects. But that caution was far less prominent than the warnings for other various side effects, including nausea, changes in dreaming, constipation, and gas and vomiting that appeared on the Chantix label.

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Chantix, the stop smoking drug that has reportedly caused suicidal thoughts and other psychological problems in some users, will soon bear new warnings.  Pfizer, the maker of Chantix, has chosen to include warnings about instances of depressed mood, agitation, suicidal thinking and suicidal behavior that have been reported among some users of the pill, even though the company claims that a “causal” link between the problems and Chantix has yet to be proven.

Such Chantix side effects may have played a part in the death of musician Carter Albrecht.  Albrecht, best known as a member of Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians, started taking Chantix in late August 2007.    Immediately, Albrecht began to complain of vivid, hallucinatory dreams — a common Chantix side effect. One night about a week after he started taking Chantix, Albrecht had a violent encounter with his girlfriend.    Albrecht’s girlfriend reported that he was confused, and did not recognize her.  Before the night was over, Albrecht had been shot dead by a terrified neighbor on whose property he had trespassed.  It was the Albrecht death that first put a spotlight on possible Chantix problems.

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Chantix, an anti-smoking medication, continues to be touted as a  “wonder drug” by its maker, Pfizer, Inc., despite the fact that it has been linked to 63 deaths and thousands of reports of psychiatric symptoms in the Unites States and Great Britain in the past year.  Yet even though the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued a warning about serious Chantix side effects, the dangerous medication is still being aggressively marketed with a campaign that features slickly produced TV commercials that make no mention of Chantix’s potential problems.

Chantix, approved in 2006, works by blocking nicotine receptors to the brain.  Chantix is the first such nicotine receptor partial agonist approved by the FDA.  It was heralded as an alternative to other smoking cessation drugs and nicotine replacement therapy.  The Chantix label warns of various side effects, including nausea, changes in dreaming, constipation, gas and vomiting.    But those warnings are more prominent and easier to find than the fine print on the package insert that warns of the possibility of psychotic and suicidal behavior.

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Chantix, a medication meant to help people stop smoking, might be to blame for the suicide of a British man in October.  According to the man’s family, the victim, who had no prior history of depression, slashed his wrists and died just four weeks after starting treatment with Chantix.  In November, the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) announced that Chantix would undergo a safety review after it had been linked to psychological problems, including suicidal thoughts and erratic behavior in some users. 

Chantix, approved in 2006, works by blocking nicotine receptors to the brain.  Chantix, which is marketed by Pfizer, is the first such nicotine receptor partial agonist approved by the FDA.  It was heralded as an alternative to other smoking cessation drugs and nicotine replacement therapy.  The Chantix label warns of various side effects, including nausea, changes in dreaming, constipation, gas and vomiting.    But those warnings are more prominent and easier to find than the fine print on the package insert that warns of the possibility of psychotic and suicidal behavior.

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Chantix, a smoking cessation drug marketed by Pfizer, is undergoing a Food & Drug Administration (FDA) safety review following reports that linked the drug to psychological problems, including suicidal thoughts and erratic behavior.  Chantix was recently implicated in the violent death of prominent Dallas musician Carter Albrecht who had been taking the medication on the night he was killed.

Chantix, approved in 2006, works by blocking nicotine receptors to the brain.  Chantix is the first such nicotine receptor partial agonist approved by the FDA.  It was heralded as an alternative to other smoking cessation drugs and nicotine replacement therapy.  The Chantix label warns of various side effects, including nausea, changes in dreaming, constipation, gas and vomiting.    But those warnings are more prominent and easier to find than the fine print on the package insert that warns of the possibility of psychotic and suicidal behavior.

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