Anti-Smoking Drugs Could Cause Suicide

Wall St 24/7 ^ | 7/2/09

[FromLori]

It is hard to say whether a person is better off stopping smoking and lessening their chances of a heart attack or killing themselves. Some of the anti-smoking drugs from Pfizer (PFE) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) can have terrible side effects. The drugs are Chantix, made by Pfizer, and Zyban, made by GlaxoSmithKline. Inexplicably, the FDA will allow the treatments to stay on the market.

The New York Times reports that “Federal drug regulators warned Wednesday that patients taking two popular drugs to stop smoking should be watched closely for signs of serious mental illness, as reports mount of suicides among the drugs’ users.”

It is hard to see how the agency is doing anyone a favor especially because there are many ways to stop smoking that are less dangerous than taking drugs with such horrendous risks. Locking someone in a closet until the urge to light up passes comes to mind.

Perhaps if drug companies did not make so much money off of medications like these, the issue would simply be one of the government banning them completely, which is what should be happening. Chantix sales were $177 million in the first quarter. That is probably enough to cover the compensation of the big pharma company’s senior management.

The exposure of the problems with the drugs begs the question of how closely large drug companies are allied with the FDA and when those alliances will be completely probed by Congress.

[FromLori]

I know my first thought too send some to the resident lol

[bmwcyle]

It works. You do stop smoking.

[hoosier hick]

By golly, he’ll quit one way or the other....

hh

[hoosiermama]

“Federal drug regulators warned Wednesday that patients taking two popular drugs to stop smoking should be watched closely for signs of serious mental illness

Is this the one THE ONE is taking?

[NMEwithin]

I tried taking Chantix for awhile and it made me feel terrible...

[Just another Joe]

I can categorically state that Chantix worked for me.

Did it have some side effects? Yes.
Could those side effects occur with marked differences in other people? I suppose so.

If you already have some issues it's possible that some types of drugs could exacerbate those issues.

If you start taking a drug and suicidal thoughts become an issue, STOP TAKING THE DRUG!

I had no such issues but then again I am basically a positive person.

[pappyone]

Suicide is kind of a tough way to reduce the number of smokers, don't ya think?

[FromLori]

omg lmao best response goes to you!

[dangerdoc]

I’ve felt a little suicidal, homocidal and down right a$$holish every time I quit nicotine, and I quit cold-turkey.

Maybe it’s not the meds.

[FromLori]

lmao tied for best response!

[Howie66]

I see “federal regulators” as our biggest threat to our mental stability.

[rockinqsranch]

I smoked for 50 years. Enjoyed it. Had no intention of quitting smoking because I did enjoy puffing away as I did my chores around the ranch.

One day early last April (9th to be exact) though I decided I wasn’t going to pay the Left for the privilege of smoking my cigarettes anymore. I wasn’t going to pay their taxes for their leftist agenda anymore, and so I quit cold turkey.

There’s a pack of cigarettes in the cupboard above the stove with 18 cigarettes in it. I haven’t any desire for those cigarettes period.

Those of you out there that want to quit smoking can do so without any pills, patches, or potions. Just quit.

Sometimes you want a cigarette, because you are used to having one when you want it, but all you do is say to yourself “NO”, and don’t have one.

It works, and it’s really painless. All the crap about withdrawals is just that, crap.

[mysterio]

And aspirin kills 2,000 people a year.

I didn't use the pills to quit. I used this :



It's easy, it works, and you smoke while you read the book. I finally caved in and bought it, and I quit and stayed quit. Best part : no months of hell. The first day after quitting was even pretty simple. Best $15 I ever spent.

[MEGoody]

Those of you out there that want to quit smoking can do so without any pills, patches, or potions. Just quit.

Yep, but you have to REALLY want to. Doing it because others have told you that you should won't cut it.

[Jack of all Trades]

Chantix works for me. I took it last year and quit for a while, but the motivation just wasn’t there.

I’ve been on it now for two weeks, and am at ten days without a smoke.

Side effects for me are mildly upset stomach if I don’t take it with food. I sometimes wake up about an hour earlier than usual. I’ve also had two spates of weird vivid dreams. Not nightmares, or disturbing, just weird.

For me the side effect pale in comparison to the prospect of a quick, or lingering painful early death, or worse - teaching my kids that smoking is fun...

[MEGoody]

So what is the gist of this “easy way” method? If it works so well, I’m sure you want to share a little bit about it, right? ;)

[mysterio]

Sure.

The book removes all brainwashing about cigarettes and what you think they do for you. It explains in detail the trap of smoking. Once you see the trap, you step out of it, and you don't spend months wishing you could jump back in.

It turns out the emotional withdrawal is what makes it horrible to quit. The actual nicotine withdrawal is so mild that most smokers experience it every night while asleep and it's not even enough to wake them up. It's the feeling of "I want a cigarette" that makes quitting hell.

I went out to the bar the first weekend of my quit, and I wanted a cigarette about as much as I wanted a slice of moldy grapefruit.

[ravingnutter]

I used Chantix and didn’t get suicidal, I just wanted to kill everything else...but that was just the nicotine withdrawal, probably would have happened without the Chantix. It’s been over two years now since I smoked.

[Sacajaweau]

I had same result....Lack of “relaxation” factor parhaps...You get hyped....like you should be doing something...It’s crushing...Becomes negative....Must be someway to release this bad feeling...yes, there is...suicide would end it!!

[Sacajaweau]

It’ll be 19 weeks on Friday AT NOON!! Cold turkey...No way was I goon replace an addiction with an addicting drug!!