Chantix increases Severe Depression

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The US brand name is Chantix. UK, Champix. Generic name is better to use: varenicline.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/7748423.stm  BBC NEWSStop smoking drug concerns raised By PolingBBC Scotland investigationsIt was launched as a wonder drug. A tablet to take the pain out of kicking the killer weed.Since it appeared on the market two years ago in the UK, almost 400,000 prescriptions for Champix have been written.Across the world, that figure is currently sitting at nine million.Champix, or varenicline, to give it its clinical name, was first licensed here in December 2006.It mimics the effects of nicotine on the body so it both reduces the urge to smoke and relieves withdrawal symptoms.In clinical trials, it proved more effective than alternative remedies at getting people to quit.For its makers - Pfizer - Champix has been a huge success.In its first full year on the market, the drug brought in a staggering $883m for the company.But about a year ago, I became aware of stories emerging in the media in which people who had taken Champix were said to have suffered severe depression.I learned of a woman, McGhee, from Greenock, who tried to kill herself just a few days after taking Champix.Her husband told me of the night he found his wife hanging from the hall stairs. McGhee said: "I just got woken up with my daughter dragging me out of my bed to come downstairs. She was shouting, 'Dad, my mum's hung herself. She's hung herself'. And I just couldn't comprehend it, I thought I was dreaming."I ran downstairs and was on the floor on her knees with a pelmet round her neck. I tried to lift her up to free the knot, but I couldn't get it loosened. I managed to cut her free and take the noose off her neck."'Suicidal tendencies'After several days on a ventilator, McGhee pulled through.She is convinced it was Champix which led to her suicide attempt.She said: "I'll never put myself through that again and never put my family through it again. I'll always be a smoker, or, if I quit, then I'll quit naturally."I heard of another case - Omer Jama - a young Manchester man who had killed himself while taking Champix.His brother, Ali, said: "He'd slashed his wrists. They'd found him on the floor in the landing and it was a shocking scene. There was no suicide note. It was just a random act, completely out of character, that took an instant."Omer had clearly taken his own life. But surprisingly, at the inquest, the coroner did not record his death as suicide.Ali said: "The coroner recorded an open verdict because she couldn't record a verdict of suicide, because on the evidence of the forensic toxicologist she found that Champix was still in Omer's bloodstream and she had researched that it had possible links to suicidal tendencies. So she couldn't rule out that it didn't play a part in his suicide."I discovered that across Britain, more than 3,000 people have complained about adverse reactions to Champix.About 260 have reported suicidal-related reactions to the drug. Of these, 16 had attempted suicide and 10 had killed themselves.But 260 reported bad reactions, no matter how severe, sounds like a drop in the ocean compared to millions of Champix prescriptions. I wanted to know whether these extreme reactions were just isolated cases.I went to the US where the drug - marketed there as Chantix - was developed and first launched.I met Elliott, a veteran of the war in Iraq, who had been given the drug by the US Government's department of Veterans Affairs, as part of his treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.One night, a few days into the Chantix course, he fought with his girlfriend, grabbed a handgun, walked into the Washington DC night, and forced the police into an armed stand-off. told me: "I think there were nine officers there. And two of them had rifles trained on my head. Those guys would not have missed. I antagonised them. You guys got guns. You tough guys. Shoot me. It'll be alright."The police used a taser gun to subdue him, and he's lucky to be alive today.'Psychiatric problems'His story prompted an investigation by the US Congress.Giving evidence, he told them he was never warned about the possible side effects.He is adamant Chantix played a part in his actions that night.He said: "I put the whole community at risk. I did. The doctors did. Chantix did."During my investigation, I also met one of the country's leading personal injury lawyers.Marc Grossman has launched five law suits against Pfizer and has 20 more cases ready to go.He said: "We have a 40-year-old man with three children who has no prior history of psychiatric problems who, out of the blue, went and put a shotgun to his mouth and killed himself."And another case is of a man who shot himself in the head."We have a woman with kids who hung herself."All the cases are just the most shocking, bizarre scenarios where someone just out of the blue commits suicide without any prior depression."I suggested to him that it wasn't unusual for people to commit suicide out of the blue with no history of depression.He told me: "It doesn't happen as often as with the people taking Champix. It happens far more often that you'd ever expect and far more often than is acceptable."Champix is big business, but it is also designed to be the answer to one of the most serious health issues facing the world, and especially Scotland.Here, 13,000 people die every year from smoking-related illnesses, and it's the single biggest preventable cause of death.Against that backdrop a drug which stops people smoking would be welcomed, and even a small decrease in smokers would loosen up resources across the ish health service.Pfizer declined to speak to the programme, but a statement from the company said the packs carry warnings about the reported side effects, and point out that there's no proof the drug has any links with suicidal behaviour.The body which licenses pharmaceuticals for use across the whole of the European Union tells us it's monitoring the drug closely, but at the moment feels the benefits of Champix far outweigh any current potential risks.Monitoring programmeDr Hans-Georg Eichler, senior medical officer with the European Medicines Agency (EMEA), told me: "This drug is designed and has been shown to be effective in helping patients quit smoking."Now we all know that there are several hundred thousand premature deaths across the European Union every year."This is a major public health issue. We know that a large proportion of smokers want to quit but they find it difficult."So against that background any drug, and I emphasise any drug, that has a positive benefit risk profile is valuable and welcome."I think the public is justified to be concerned and we're extremely concerned."But being concerned is not the same as being convinced that there is a causal relationship."So that's why we have implemented a high alert monitoring programme."We have here in the agency weekly meetings where we would analyse all the incoming data, and would alert the committee that is relevant, the working party, that is charged to specifically look at these events and see what action is required.'Ashes to Ashes: Is Champix safe? Will be broadcast on Wednesday 26 November at 8.30pm on BBC One Scotland.You can also download it via the iPlayer.Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/7748423.stmPublished: 2008/11/26 00:52:11 GMT© BBC MMVIII