Chantix, a popular drug used by people trying to quit smoking carries some serious side effects. That’s according to a research group at Wake Forest
Baptist Medical Center that claims the drug is eight times more likely to
be linked to suicidal behavior or depression than other nicotine
replacement products. The researchers looked at more than 32 hundred
reports of serious self injury or depression linked to Chantix and another
product Zyban, also approved for smoking cessation plus several other
nicotine replacement products. They discovered more than 29-hundred of
the cases, about 90 percent of suicidal behavior reported to the FDA was
related to Chantix. The full report is posted online in the Public
Library of Science journal PLos One. The Department of Health and Human
Services says 36 percent of smokers try to quit each year, but only three
percent are ultimately successful for six months or longer.
