Pfizer Forced to Inform of Chantix Dangers

In July 2009, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ordered Pfizer to include a warning on Chantix, to highlight the risk of serious mental health reactions and Chantix side effects, which include: changes in behavior, depressed mood, hostility and suicidal thoughts. Pfizer says the medication acts on sites in the brain affected by nicotine, helps ease withdrawal symptoms and blocks the effects of nicotine if a user resumes smoking. On June 16, the FDA issued a similar Chantix drug safety communication, warning that the smoking cessation drug might increase the risk of certain heart problems, including the risk of heart attack, among individuals who have cardiovascular disease. The warning came following the analysis of a study of 700 smokers that found those taking Chantix suffered twice the rate of heart attacks as those who did not.

Heart Attack Risk Kills Chantix Profits

In a statement released this week, Pfizer criticized the findings of a study published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, maintaining that current safety data involving more than 7,000 people has found no evidence of heart side effects for Chantix. The company suggests that the recent findings could be inaccurate due to the overall low number of heart events found in the study. Researchers mined a number of databases for double-blind, randomized controlled trials involving people who took Chantix and were later found to have suffered a cardiovascular event, including heart attacks. They found that side effects of Chantix may substantially increase the risk of heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular problems by 72% over smokers who did not take the drug.

Court Case to Move Forward in Chantix Wrongful Death Suit

Plaintiffs who have filed federal Chantix lawsuits claiming they were injured or killed while trying to kick their smoking habit by using the cessation drug Chantix will have their day in court in Alabama, a federal consolidation panel has ruled. Pfizer, the maker of Chantix, has been sued by and on behalf of users who say they have experienced suicidal behavior and thoughts and other serious side effects while taking the stop-smoking drug. Among the cases is one brought by relatives of Texas musician Carter Albrecht, who died on September 3, 2007.Albrecht, a well-known Dallas musician and member of Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians, was fatally shot by a neighbor after he started banging on the windows of the neighbor’s house in the middle of the night. Albrecht’s relatives blamed his unusual, aggressive behavior that night on Chantix.

Reports Show Chantix Can Lead to Self Harm and Harm to Others

Concerns over a potential increased risk of heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems among some users of the smoking cessation drug Chantix has led federal regulators to require new warnings for smokers who are considering the prescription medication. For more than 2 1/2 years now, Chantix lawyers have been representing individuals and families severely injured or killed as a result of this popular prescription medication. While Chantix is designed to help people stop smoking, it has been linked to hundreds or reports of serious injuries or deaths among users and those close to them. In addition to increasing the risk of suicidal thoughts and suicide with Chantix, users have found that the smoking cessation drug has caused them to lash out at the nearest person in an “uncontrollable rage,” which can result in serious or fatal injuries for both users and their friends or family.

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.

Chantix Heart Problems Uncovered

The list of side effects associated with the smoking cessation drug Chantix seems to be growing every day, with the Food and Drug Administration’s recent announcement that there is an increased risk of heart attack in patients who take the drug in order to quit smoking. Other adverse cardiovascular effects have been noted as well, especially for those with cardiovascular disease. These side effects have been added to an extensive list, which includes diabetes, psychiatric problems, depression, suicide ideation, aggressive behavior, and Chantix blackouts.

Chantix Violence Leaves Patients Outraged

The serious side effects of Chantix have led to its removal from the list of drugs covered by health care in France – and the United States may not be far behind. Although still available in the country, it will no longer be covered by state sponsored health insurance. Chantix, which is sold as Champix in France, has been plaguing users there with the same psychological side effects that patients in the United States have been experiencing – rage, mood swings, depression, and suicide ideation, among others.