Iraq War Vet Another Chantix Success Story

OK, the hed is sarcastic because yet another person trying to stop smoking by using Chantix (Champix elsewhere) wound up depressed from using the drug, had erratic social behavior (meaning the drug made him angry) and so on. In this case, the man is an Iraq War vet and was told by his VA doctor that Chantix worked 80 percent of the time. While I doubt it works that often, it does work for a decent number of people (including friends of mine). But in a large percentage of people Chantix is clearly causing problems, including reported suicides and cases of suicidality and depression. What a weird drug this has turned out to be. I've said it before, but here it comes again: Chantix is like Paxil's kid brother.

People have got to be careful with this drug. That's for sure.

Which raises a dilemma for me. Let's say I want to stop smoking cigarettes. Would I dare take Chantix knowing what I know about the drug's possible effects and knowing my own history of icky responses to SSRIs and how Chantix seems to have weird effects particularly for people who've had bad responses to anti-depressants in the past? What would I say to a doctor who was pushing it on me? Thanks, but no thanks.