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 Most Critical Side Effect of Quit Smoking Drug

In 2008 The FDA announced a public health advisory about abnormal behavior, agitation, Chantix depression, suicidal ideation, and actual suicidal behavior with Pfizer’s anti-smoking drug. The FDA provided updated numbers - 491 cases of suicidal thinking or behavior, including 420 in the US and of those, there were 39 suicides, including 34 in the US. Many of the cases were reported for patients without any prior history of psychiatric illness. Government scientists are conducting further investigating into the drug and, specifically, the reports of Chantix suicide and suicidal ideation. 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.