Chantix Lawsuits Making Progress: Update

Chantix, the popular smoking cessation drug that has plagued some users with serious side effects, is about to be at the centre of a series of trials set to take place in the Northern District of Alabama. Over 1,200 Chantix lawsuits have been consolidated in multidistrict litigation that has not yet begun, but both parties will begin preparing evidence from the initial discovery pool this fall, and trials will commence from there. In multidistrict litigation, pretrial processes are completed as one, and then cases may be sent back to the courts from which they originated.

Plaintiffs are filing suit on behalf of themselves or a family member who has experienced one of many severe Chantix side effects, including suicide attempts and suicide ideation, episodes of rage, heart problems, aggressive behavior, and heart attacks. The cases center around the assertion that Pfizer did not adequately warn patients of the potential for many of these serious side effects. In addition, there is concern over the way Chantix was tested. Subjects with a history of mental illness were not included in Chantix clinical trials, despite the fact that statistically people with a history of mental illness or mental problems are much more likely to smoke. In addition, people with such a history are the ones most likely to be affected by Chantix psychological side effects.

Chantix Suicide Numbers Increase as More Information Discovered

The smoking cessation drug Chantix has been linked to a number of serious psychological side effects. These possible Chantix side effects include aggression, rage, mood swings, depression, and suicidal thoughts not characteristic of a patient’s thoughts and behavior before taking the medication. Despite this, Chantix continues to be one of the most popular smoking cessation products on the market today. Pfizer, the manufacturer of Chantix, is coming under fire both for its clinical trial accuracy and the fact that they appear to have been hiding information about Chantix from the food and Drug Administration.

Initially, there were 122 reports of Chantix suicide reported by Pfizer. It has come to light, however, that about 150 cases of Chantix-related suicide or suicide of those taking Chantix were known, but not reported to the Food and Drug Administration. Combined, almost 300 cases of Chantix suicide have been reported. This means that the danger associated with Chantix-related suicide is more than twice what was originally thought – and spells trouble for Pfizer, especially as they are now faced with victims filing many a Chantix lawsuit.

Chantix heart attack is another side effect that is especially worrisome to patients and legal experts. Heart attacks are one of the most deadly conditions today, and Chantix seems to put patients at greater risk of suffering one. Is it possible that Chantix heart attacks, like Chantix suicides, have been seriously

Heart Attacks And Suicide Lead To Chantix Lawsuits

In January of this year, David Collins killed himself with a shotgun just three months after he began taking Chantix (varenicline) a smoking cessation drug made by Pfizer. Linda Collins who is David Collins widow has filed a lawsuit in Indianapolis against Pfizer over Chantix side effects and its possible failure to provide warnings to users. Mr. Collins had no prior history of mental illness, but before his suicide Mr. Collins exhibited aggression and strange behavior. Lawsuits allege that Pfizer was negligent because it manufactured and marketed an unsafe drug. The FDA approved Chantix in May 2006. By the end of 2006, Chantix was listed among a group of 35 drugs that received more than 100 serious injury reports per calendar quarter. By mid-2007, Chantix ranked third among all drugs in reported problems.

In the last quarter of 2007, Chantix users reported 988 adverse events, more than any other marketed drug. Lawsuits assert that Pfizer should be held strictly liable for manufacturing and marketing this unsafe drug. Drug manufacturers must perform clinical tests before drugs are marketed. The manufacturer must ensure that the drugs are safe and effective. Chantix lawsuits claim that Pfizer did not perform enough clinical trials before it marketed Chantix. Pfizer failed to conduct Chantix studies using individuals with psychiatric histories or current psychiatric symptoms. Lawsuits allege that if sufficient pre-market testing was performed, Pfizer may have determined that Chantix depression and suicide had a link.

Last month, the FDA warned that, in addition to the risk of increased aggressive behavior, some users of the stop-smoking drug Chantix may face an increased risk of heart attacks and other heart problems. Chantix has already been linked to an increased risk of a number of potential health problems. The FDA issued the warning after reviewing data from a clinical trial involving 700 smokers, half of whom were given Chantix instead of a placebo to help them quit smoking. Researchers found that 2% of the users of Chantix suffered a heart attack within a year, twice as many as smokers given a placebo, among the other heart problems.