Dec 13, 2007 2:27 pm US/Central
More Report Adverse Effects After Taking Chantix
FDA Report: Chantix May Be Tied To Suicidal Behavior
Click here to read viewer accounts of taking Chantix.
(CBS 11 / TXA 21)
CBS 11 has learned the number of people in the United Kingdom reporting suicidal thoughts while using the drug Champix, which is known as Chantix in U.S., doubled in just 60 days.
The news comes more than a week after 39-year-old Omer Jama, a popular television editor, slashed his wrists after beginning a course of the anti-smoking pill.
The manufacturer, Pfizer, maintains the drug is safe and there is no correlation between suicide and its pill.
CBS 11 also learned of another suicide involving a person taking the pill. According to a 2006 report by the European Medical Agency (EMEA), a 61-year-old man committed suicide less than a month after he finished taking the anti-smoking drug.
EMEA -- responsible for the medical safety of 500,000 people in 27 countries -- is asking Pfizer to submit all of its safety data world-wide related to suicidal thoughts and/or suicide.
According to that same report, in a clinical trial with Champix, the drug had six times the number of serious adverse reactions as a similar drug, Zyban. Pfizer used Zyban as a comparison in clinical trials to show the success rate of its drug.
Last month, after a series of CBS11 exclusive investigative reports, the FDA announced it would conduct a safety investigation into reports that Chantix may lead to erratic or violent behavior.
In Australia, the packs of the anti-smoking pill will now contain extra information warning that some patients have suffered from depression, agitation and suicidal thoughts while taking the drug.
Pfizer states there have been no suicides attributed to Chantix/Champix in its clinical trials.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
