What is more harmful, smoking or quitting with the help of such pills?
From the editorial office:
The figures given here are, of course, impressive, but it would be nice to translate them into percentages and compare the frequency of similar disorders among people who quit smoking with the help of other drugs and pure willpower, as well as with data on the population as a whole. Perhaps this varenicline is not so terrible, otherwise the FDA would certainly have banned its sale to ordinary citizens.
In the USA, pilots and air traffic controllers were banned from using the anti-smoking drug Chantix (varenicline). The ban was imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after the publication of a report by independent experts on the side effects of the drug that can affect the control of the aircraft, the New York Yimes reports.
Pfizer Inc's Chantix drug binds nicotine receptors in brain neurons, reducing the intensity of nicotine patches. In addition, it blocks the production of the neurotransmitter dopamine, responsible for positive emotions associated with smoking. In 2006, the drug was allowed to be sold in the USA and EU countries.
The non-profit Institute for Drug Safety Problems (Institute for Safe Medicine Practices) analyzed reports of side effects of Chantix received by the FDA in the period from May 2006 to December 2007. It turned out that during the specified period, 227 cases of suicides or suicide attempts, 397 cases of suspected psychoses, 525 cases of hostility or aggression were registered among patients taking the drug. Scientists reported that 28 people who took the drug committed suicide and 41 people were obsessed with thoughts of murder. There were also 60 cases of paranoia and 55 cases of hallucinations.
In addition, there have been reports of a link between taking Chantix and potentially fatal cardiac arrhythmias, heart attacks, epileptic seizures, diabetes and various mental disorders, experts said. In their opinion, the new data suggest that the risk of varenicline treatment has been underestimated.
In turn, representatives of Pfizer said that the instructions for Chantics indicate possible side effects, including mental disorders, and there is also a warning that the drug may affect the driving of vehicles.
Copper News
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23.05.2008