Furious Seasons

July 10, 2008

First Lawsuit Filed Over Chantix Suicides

From the journalism machine that is Pharmalot we learn of the first lawsuit filed against Pfizer over allegations that Chantix, its stop smoking drug that's acting a whole lot like Paxil in some cases, caused the suicide of a man:

"On January 3, David Collins killed himself with a shotgun, three months after he began taking Chantix, Pfizer’s controversial smoking-cessation pill. Now, his widow, Linda, has filed what may be the first product-liability lawsuit against the drugmaker over Chantix side effects and an alleged failure to provide sufficient warnings. And her lawyer predicts many more such lawsuits are on the way.
"In her lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in Indianapolis, Collins claims Pfizer failed to adequately study Chantix; delayed publication of studies containing Chantix risk info; failed to update Chantix labeling sooner, and denied Chantix is explicity to blame for suicide by instead suggesting such behavior may be the result of nicotine withdrawal....

"'The magnitude of the safety signal associated with the risk is alarming,' Kristian Rasmussen, one of Collins’ lawyers, tells us. Prior to the suicide, David Collins exhibited aggression and had strange dreams, but had no history of mental illness. Pfizer has been criticized for not including people with mental illness in its clinical trials, because the drug causes neuropsychiatric side effects."

There's more over at Pharmalot. I've been all over Chantix going back to last summer. I'm sure there are more lawsuits to come because quite a few people have gotten dinged up by this drug, which almost makes smoking look healthy by comparison.

Posted by Philip Dawdy at July 10, 2008 12:14 PM

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Comments

Let's use the right word for it:
Those who are responsible for this drug being on the market are:
MURDERERS
They belong to jail.
Finally someone start the trials.
Hope this time all families unite and do what the families from the SSRIs, i don't understand why, why these people keep silent?
Why on earth a mother and a father, or a aunt or friends knows her daughter was murdered during a clinical trying do nothing?
Guess I'm the wrong person.
Nobody cares!
Sometimes I feel like stopping all of this and move on.
I CAN'T!
I SIMPLY CAN'T BE SILENT KNOWING ALL OF THESE!
I'M SHOUTING!
YEP! I'M SHOUTING>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
THIS IS FOR YOU TRACY JOHNSON!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THIS IS FOR YOU ERIC!!!!!!!!
THIS IS FOR YOU ERIC PEKKA!!!!!!!!
AT LEAST CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS!!!!!!!
KEEP YOUR HANDS AWAY FROM THE CHILDREN, BASTARDS!

Posted by: Ana at July 10, 2008 02:31 PM

No dizziness will ever leave me silent.
I'm dizzy and feeling terrible.
But I'll keep coming here.
I'll not write. But I'll be coming here till the day I die if necessary.
You congressmen from US!
Where are you all?
In Brazil I've already send e-mails to two congressman who knows it all.
One of them has even created a law. Once the law was created he went to create another law on another subject.
Yes Paulo Delgado!
I've already send you e-mails!
No reply at all!
Yes Fernando Gabeira!
I've already sent you e-mails: no reply at all!
Do you want MY VOTE TO MY STATE?
NO REPAY AT ALL FOR YOU!

Sorry Philip. I'll write about it later on my blog.
Could not help it.
Gabeira wants to legalize marijuana. Good!
Fair!
But although you Gabeira, the one I voted, the one who back on 70 kidnapped the American consul...
who were this and that.
What about mental health?
Not enough votes this subject!
I see!

Sorry again. I was thinking about writing it on my blog but I'm feeling to dizzy.
Just come to see.
I was not going to comment.
But it's impossible to come here without commenting.

Posted by: Ana at July 10, 2008 02:41 PM

Pharma is big in ASH [Action on Smoking & Health]. They want the money that is to be made for nicotine replacement now that everyone is required to quit smoking or else become a pariah.

Ironic that the devices to help a person quit smoking are more dangerous than the smoking, at least in the short term.

Remember that smoking shortens a person's life by five and one-half years. Psych meds shorten it by 15 to 25 years.

Posted by: Rosie C. at July 10, 2008 02:50 PM

Great work sounding the alarm re:Chantix here!

I hope ppl take the time to read the archives/search on this blog to understand there was a warning out long before "public agencies" gave one. (via this blog)

Keep up the good work Philip: you are always about 3 yrs. ahead of the "rest" re: mental health topics.

With that in mind, you must be approaching age 49.

Posted by: Stephany at July 10, 2008 10:39 PM

Ugh, makes me sick. Im actually a paralegal at a Medical malpractice firm so im glad these people are using the courts to grab big pharma by their money.

Isn't it scary that pharmaceutical companies may be immune to lawsuits in October if they win their case before the Supreme Court? All they need is an initial FDA approval and they are off the hook for any future injuries.

Posted by: Amber at July 14, 2008 05:36 PM

I'm just guessing Amber, but could it be that the FDA is staffed by big pharma execs in a sort of revolving door, sort of like the USDA and corporate agriculture execs and the outbreaks of ecoli and mad cow disease that some of us have seen coming for years, but then we're crazy. Maybe the Supremes will not let this one by, but it's a coin toss.

Posted by: Sally at July 15, 2008 06:09 AM