Chantix Shown to Have Consistent Link to Murder-Suicides

Chantix (varenicline) was approved in the United States by the FDA in 2006 as a prescription medication to help people quit smoking. The drug works by reducing the positive feelings that come from cigarettes, blocking the receptors in the brain commonly stimulated by nicotine. However, the impact of the drug on the brain has resulted in a number of reports from users who experienced sudden, unusually aggressive behavior, thoughts of self-harm and suicide. In June 2009, the FDA added a “black box” warning about the potential risk of problems with Chantix, indicating that some users have experienced changes in behavior, depression, suicidal thoughts and other serious Chantix side effects. Pfizer has also been required to conduct clinical trials providing more data on how often neuropsychiatric symptoms and suicide with Chantix occur and what conditions cause them.

A murder-suicide Chantix lawsuit was filed by the estates of Sean Wain, 34, and Natalie Wain, 33 on May 9 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Sean Wain was prescribed Chantix to help him stop smoking. According to the complaint, he had been using the medication for about one to two weeks before he began to experience rage, which resulted in violent behavior, leading him to shoot his wife and then commit suicide on May 17, 2009.


In July 2010, a study published by researchers from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices determined that not only did Chantix invoke violent and unprovoked aggressive acts from users, but the violent urges tended to be most powerful when users first start taking the drug; often before they had gotten to the point in their Chantix use where they had stopped smoking. Researchers found that violent and aggressive behavior ended for 93% of the subjects when they stopped taking Chantix. Another Chantix study from the Institute published in December determined that Chantix was the prescription drug most associated with violent side effects. Chantix was linked to 408 reported cases of violence over a five-year period; more than double the number of instances reported for any other drug on the market in the U.S. Potential plaintiffs who have any questions in regards to Chantix litigation and filing a lawsuit of their own should first speak to an experienced Chantix lawyer.