Chantix linked to road-traffic accidents and seizures
Posted by Administrator (admin) on Oct 23 2008 at 2:26 PM
Chantix >>

A report released by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), a non-profit medication watchdog, says that Chantix accounted for more reports of severe injury in the first quarter of 2008 than the 10 best selling brand name prescription drugs combined.

According to the report, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) received serious adverse event reports on 773 different drugs during the 1st quarter of 2008.  The report says that Chantix topped the list.

The report indicates that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) received 1,001 adverse event reports among Chantix users, including 50 deaths. According to the researchers at the Institute, Chantix needs to carry stronger warnings about its potential risks of accidental injury and death.

The report also says Chantix recorded the highest number of suicide/self-harm events of any medication with 226. The next two closest drugs that reported suicide attempts were oxycodone with 89 reports and acetaminophen with 87. This is 22 percent less when compared to Chantix.

The report encourages the FDA and Pfizer to include a prominent warning about accident risks to both the patient Medication Guide and prescribing information sheet for doctors.

The ISMP report also mentions about serious accidental injuries. Chantix induced seizures, disturbances in vision, panic attacks or impaired judgment may be playing a role in traffic accidents, the report says.

Comments