Anti-smoking drug tied to serious mental illness
By ELLEN GABLER
Posted: April 18, 2008-Journal Sentinel



EXCERPT:
Melinda and Kenny Peterson wanted to kick their two-pack-a-day smoking habit.

In early January, the Green Bay couple started taking three-month prescriptions of Chantix, a new anti-smoking pill. About six weeks later, they weren't smoking at all.
But what the Petersons didn't know was that as they were weaning themselves off cigarettes, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an alert: Some patients taking the powerful drug had experienced serious neuropsychiatric symptoms. And Pfizer, the maker of Chantix, had recently added a warning about these symptoms in a more prominent position in the drug's information packet, at the FDA's urging.

The alert was issued in early February. But the Petersons didn't know about it until the end of March, when a friend who was a pharmacist filled them in.

By then, it was too late. About a week earlier, Kenny Peterson had spiraled into a deep depression. He told his wife he wanted to kill himself. His family checked him into a hospital psychiatric ward four days before Easter.

Chantix's safety is now under fire, as similar stories of patients with suicidal thoughts, depression and aggressive behavior surface. The FDA received reports of 37 suicides and 491 cases in which people had suicidal thoughts. The FDA also said it "appears increasingly likely that there is an association between Chantix and serious neuropsychiatric symptoms." About 5 million people use the drug.

"I think the jury is still out on what's going on here," said Carlyle Chan, a professor in the psychiatric department at the Medical College of Wisconsin. "Be aware that there are some concerns about (Chantix). It needs to be watched closely."

A Pfizer spokeswoman said the company was rolling out Chantix globally but halted advertising the drug to consumers in February. The FDA approved the drug in May 2006.

COMPLETE STORY AT https://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=740914

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