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Yesterday I wrote about the non-psychiatric side effects of Chantix and how studies are beginning to reveal how those side effects can adversely affect one’s driving. Loss of consciousness, dizziness, confusion, aggression, and muscle spasms can all happen to a Chantix user who is behind the wheel. I don’t mean to sound alarmist, but I have had enough first-hand experience with Chantix to know these newest warnings are worth emphasizing.
By now we know that Chantix is dangerous for some people who use the drug, but mounting evidence suggests that people who don’t use it may also be harmed. Since Chantix became available for smoking cessation in August of 2006, the FDA has received a steady influx of reports connecting the drug to traffic accidents. Moreover, while the medical community and the media are focused on the negative psychiatric effects that some Chantix users experience, researchers now believe that the non-psychiatric effects may be worse.
Many medical researchers find little surprise that Chantix has been linked to higher than normal rates of depression and suicide. Varenicline (the chemical name of Pfizer’s smoking cessation drug) goes to work directly in the brain by targeting certain receptors and simulating that feeling of having already smoked – that “full” feeling smokers feel after they’ve lit up one or two. Other pharmaceuticals that go to work directly in the brain include antidepressants, some of which have also been linked to behavioral problems and suicide.
Next week, Pfizer will once again be running Chantix ads on television. Pfizer stopped running Chantix ads last year amid increasing concern over the drug’s side effects. The familiar tortoise and the hare ads will resume on Sunday, September 14, with lengthened warnings about potential side effects. The extended warnings will occupy 41 seconds of the ad, which will run for 90 seconds – 30 seconds longer than the old ads.
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