Institute for Safe Medication Practices Releases Champix Report

Pfizer has been very clear in the labeling on the Champix labels

A study from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices says that care must be taken when using the smoking cessation medication Champix. The report notes that the Food & Drug Administration has received reports of adverse events in just over 1,000 cases and that this figure is particularly high. The report compares the use of Champix to Nicotine Replacement Therapy which has only had seventeen reports of adverse events linked with its use.

The drug manufacturer Pfizer has been very clear in the labeling on the Champix drug, (which is sold as Chantix in the United States), that people with psychiatric problems should avoid the use of this medication. Champix functions by acting on brain receptors which control the urge to light up a cigarette.

At Ukmedix News we’ve seen that different people find different smoking cessation therapies more effective. For some people Nicotine Replacement Therapy does not work and for others Champix is extremely effective. You should talk to your doctor about the side effects of different smoking cessation therapies and if you have a record of mental illness you should let him or her know.

The big issue regarding smoking cessation therapy is that because smoking is so harmful and failure to give up almost certainly leads to illness, a certain amount of risk is sometimes justified when it comes to choosing a treatment. One thing is for sure, that by not using Champix and not quitting you are far more likely to do yourself serious injury than if you quit smoking by using this very effective smoking cessation medication.

The report released by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices said that Pfizer should add more prominent warnings in the labeling that comes with the Champix drug and should place specific emphasis on adverse psychiatric side effects.