Psychiatric News
Overall in the 2nd quarter of 2010, the FDA received 33,068 domestic reports of serious injury, disability or death associated with drug therapy--an increase of 12% from the same quarter one year ago.The latest January 2011 QuarterWatch (analyzing FDA's MedWatch adverse effect reports for Quarter 2 of 2010) found that despite prominent label warnings, the stop-smoking drug varenicline (CHANTIX) continues to pose serious life-threatening risks.A year after FDA required a prominent boxed warning, a mandatory Medication Guide for every patient and declining use, CHANTIX continued to account for the largest numbers of reported serious psychiatric side effects that pose serious risks of harm. The case reports involving CHANTIX, primarily of hostility-aggression, depression and psychosis, pose serious risks--not only to those who use it--but also to others who may be victimized by consumers of the drug who become psychotic or aggressive.For this reason, the Federal Aviation Administration has banned varenicline for pilots and air traffic controllers; the Department of Transportation has limited its use among truck drivers; and the Department of Defense has banned it for use by some military personnel, including pilots and missile crews.The evidence shows that irresponsible physicians prescribe dangerous drugs under the influence of the drugs' manufacturers? Read more
Dec 17, 2010
A reader was looking for natural alternatives to Chantix/Champix, so I thought I'd provide some information based on methods I've suggested to people over the years that have been very helpful. I generally suggest that if you are a . ...
Jan 12, 2011
1) Varenicline (Chantix) The anti-smoking medication Chantix affects the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, which helps reduce craving for smoking. Unfortunately, it's 18 times more likely to be linked with violence compared to other ...
Feb 02, 2008
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that after an analysis of cases of depression, suicidal thoughts and other unusual behavior in patients on the medication, the evidence appears stronger of an association with Chantix. ...
Jun 18, 2008
“His on-to-Wall-Street approach succeeded in rushing Chantix, Pfizer's stop smoking drug, varenicline, to market but a string of 2006 suicides and the violent death of Dallas musician Carter Albrecht leave many asking if that was such a ...