Chantix Side Effects Weaken Domestic Sales

Sales of stop smoking drug Chantix are falling fast in the U.S., due to reports of severe negative side effects linked to the medicine. Overseas, however, Chantix sales are booming.
In 2010, medical journal PloS ONE published a study that showed Chantix has been linked to more acts of violence than any other prescription medicine available today. It has been shown to result in violent side effects, including aggressive behavior completely out of proportion, assault without provocation, and even suicide. These violent acts were found to be twice as common among Chantix users as among users of the number two drug with violent side effects, the antidepressant Paxil.

Chantix in Japan

There have been dozens of deaths linked to Chantix side effects, and there are at least 1,200 Chantix lawsuits currently undergoing processing in the U.S. court system. But despite the widely reported and sometimes fatal violent Chantix side effects, the FDA has yet to recall the drug. Meanwhile, Chantix is flying off the shelves in Japan.
The New York Times recently reported that Japanese Chantix sales were sparked by an October 2010 tax hike on cigarettes in Japan. Japan has a reputation as one of the “smokiest” countries on the planet, and recent events seem to strengthen this perception. Such great numbers of Japanese smokers sought prescriptions for Chantix that the medicine at one point was completely sold out throughout the nation.
Now Pfizer, the drugmaker, is busy producing more “Champix” (as it is named in Japan) to meet this overseas demand. This surge in sales may to some extent make up for the dismal domestic Chantix sales.

Black Box Warning Sees Chantix Sales Slip

Sales of Chantix plummeted 36 percent between the fourth quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009, in large part because of a new “black box” warning label that alerted consumers to the risk of violent Chantix side effects such as unprovoked aggressive acts and thoughts of suicide. As stated in the Times article, Chantix sales in the U.S. fell another 16.8 percent during the first three quarters of 2010.
In late 2008 an announcement was made that sparked this precipitous fall in sales. The news was that Chantix had become the most dangerous brand name pharmaceutical in the United States. ISMP, a non-profit consumer healthcare watchdog organization, conducted a report in 2008 that showed the FDA had received more reports of Chantix injuries than reports from all of the top ten best-selling brand name pharmaceuticals combined.
It is clear that Chantix is dangerous, as the great numbers of Chantix deaths and Chantix lawsuits attest. It is also clear that Japan has quite a smoking problem. The Times article stated that 36.6 percent of Japanese men are currently smokers, which is much higher than the 24 percent of U.S. men who smoke cigarettes. Each year in Japan there are 130,000 deaths from tobacco-related illnesses.
Whether these tobacco-related deaths in Japan will rise or fall after this massive Chantix consumption remains to be seen. People are also wondering whether Japan will experience a sudden rise in violent Chantix side effects, and whether Japanese Chantix deaths will be included in the latest statistics for the drug. Japan already has one of the highest suicide rates on the globe, and it is not yet known whether Chantix side effects will push this rate yet higher.