Chantix Faced With Varying Side Effect Lawsuits

There are a number of Chantix lawsuits filed individually in state courts due to Chantix suicide and other side effects. These plaintiffs are seeking compensation for their injuries from drugmaking giant Pfizer and Pfizer is doing its best to defend itself, allowing the Food and Drug Administration to place a black box warning on their product in 2009, which is the strongest warning the Food and Drug Administration is allowed to give short of recalling the drug. Many Chantix plaintiffs are bereaved family members of those who have committed suicide, but some are the ones affected by the drug themselves—many people who have attempted suicide or seriously harmed themselves or others as a result of Chantix are filing suit against Pfizer.

The first lawsuit relating to Chantix suicide was filed in July 2008 in federal court in Indiana. A man with no history or symptoms of mental illness committed suicide after taking Chantix for a few months. Multiple Chantix suicide lawsuits have been filed since then around the country. In October 2009, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation consolidated the Chantix related federal lawsuits before a single court in Alabama. Chantix may also impair the brain’s ability to derive enjoyment from other safe activities. The lack of enjoyment causes depression and suicidal thoughts. Scientists and researchers are still studying Chantix’s effect on other brain receptors.

Most Chantix lawsuits deal with suicide attempts and other psychological side effects of the drug, although heart attack and diabetes have also been reported. The irony of Chantix heart attack is that many smokers wish to quit smoking to preserve their cardiovascular health; a drug that has the potential to help them quit smoking can contribute to heart problems. Although Chantix is an exceptionally effective drug—often touted as the most effective smoking cessation drug on the market, with very high rates of success based on clinical trials—the popularity of it puts more and more people at risk for side effects. The FDa has directed Pfizer to conduct further clinical trials on Chantix, but these results are not expected until 2017.

Virginia Man Joins Chantix Litigation

A Virginia man has become one of the most recent plaintiffs to file suit against drug manufacturer Pfizer due to side effects he suffered as a result of smoking cessation drug Chantix. With the help of a Chantix lawyer, Jonathan L. Wince filed suit on the 5th of January, 2012, in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Maryland. According to the claim filed by his Chantix lawyer, Wince has been the victim of several serious Chantix side effects. His case joins a number of others that have already been filed because of serious Chantix psychological side effects. 

Luckily for Wince and his loved ones, his case did not become a Chantix suicide lawsuit. A number of patients have actually committed suicide and their family members are taking legal action against Pfizer because of this, claiming that Chantix caused or contributed to their loved one's suicide. Wince experienced suicidal thoughts, however, along with a number of other side effects: severe emotional distress, panic attacks, lethargy, confusion, Chantix depression, Chantix suicidal thoughts, memory loss, anxiety, aggression, manic behavior, physical pain, and intestinal bleeding. He allegedly began experiencing these things after being prescribed the drug to help him quit smoking on January 3, 2009. 

Wince's Chantix lawsuit is seeking damages from Pfizer, $5 million in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive ones. One of the allegations brought up by Wince's Chantix lawyer is that Pfizer was negligent in clinical testing and in warning patients of the potential risk. Clinical testing for Chantix excluded patients with a history of mental illness, even though these people are unusually likely to use Chantix and also more likely to experience some of the more severe Chantix side effects. The lawsuit also claims that Pfizer knew or should have known of the risks associated with Chantix and should have warned patients more thoroughly of the potential side effects. 

Cited in the lawsuit are studies linking Chantix to psychological side effects, including research that showed patients using Chantix were three times more likely to experience Chantix suicidal thoughts in clinical trials than patients who were taking a placebo.

Chantix Suicide Link Strengthened by New Study

A team of researchers is calling on the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to beef up warnings for Chantix side effects, after their study found the drug’s psychological side effects make it unsuitable for first-line use as a smoking-cessation aid. The FDA, however, continues to maintain that Chantix is a safe and effective way to help smokers quit. The team analyzed 3,249 case reports of serious injury included in the FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting System from 1998 through September 2010 for self-injurious behavior or depression linked to Chantix psychological problems. Zyban, an antidepressant approved for smoking cessation, and nicotine replacement products. They found that since 1998, 90 percent of the cases of suicidal behavior or depression were linked to Chantix. In comparison, only 7 percent were associated with Zyban, and 3 percent were linked to nicotine replacement products.

There have been many reports of users of the drug committing suicide or inflicting injury on themselves or others while using Chantix. Chantix lawyers allege that Pfizer has failed to adequately warn users about the risk of Chantix suicide side effects. Their actions have prevented people from recognizing the thoughts that may be caused by the drug before it resulted in serious physical injury or death. Prior to introducing the medication, Pfizer specifically excluded from Chantix safety and efficacy trials many people who were potential target users of the drug, including those with a history of drug or alcohol abuse, those with cardiovascular disease within six months and those recently treated for psychiatric symptoms like depression, bipolar disorder, psychosis or panic disorders.

Hundreds of Chantix lawsuits filed in federal district courts throughout the United States are consolidated as part of a multidistrict litigation, or MDL, which is centralized before U.S. District Judge Inge Johnson in the Northern District of Alabama. As the litigation moves forward, Chantix lawyers are continuing to review and file cases on behalf of individuals who suffered serious or fatal injuries that may have been caused by the psychological effects of the drug. More than a two dozen new Chantix complaints have been filed against Pfizer this month in the Northern District of Alabama, and the number of lawsuits included in the Chantix litigation is expected to continue to grow.

Chantix Side Effects Lawsuits Slam Popular Drug

The smoking cessation drug Chantix looked like it was poised to be a success when it was first introduced to the market. Unlike many smoking cessation products, it proved extremely successful against a placebo during early clinical trials. However, for some Chantix patients, they are getting more than they bargain for—while making a desperate attempt to improve their health, some of these patients might accidentally be sentencing themselves to Chantix attempted suicide death. Chantix attempted suicide for them while they want to quit smoking.

Chantix was not tested during initial clinical trials on patients with a history of mental illness, although there are statistics that show that people with psychological problems or a history of psychological problems are more likely to be smokers than people without psychological problems. It is the former category that is more likely to experience psychological Chantix side effects. Depression, violent rages, sudden mood swings, aggression, and suicidal thoughts or Chantix suicide ideations.