Anti-Smoking Drug Chantix Linked to Suicide

Well here’s another, “No Surprise” Literally every evening when Sharon and I would watch the evening news (by the way that’s when we used to watch the evening news, I no longer bother now I'd rather get my news from a non propaganda source via the Internet ) we’d sit amazed at the plethora of drug commercials. Literally, on some National broadcasts it was 100% drug commercials. The one commercial that always struck us in a bad ironic way was the drug chantix with its almost constant mention of suicide as a side effect. Well in my experience in working with grieving families suicide has always been a permanent solution for a temporary problem with no do over’s allowed.

We were shocked that even the FDA would stoop so low as to approve a product like this one. So smokers, here's additional proof the government doesn't care if you drop dead: The feds are outright ignoring new evidence that links a popular anti-smoking drug to suicide. I guess the bean counters have decide if you off yourself it will save tax dollars that they no longer have to prolong your life if you get cancer. I've warned my radio listeners before about the Chantix-suicide link, but the new data finds that people who take it are EIGHT TIMES more likely to attempt or succeed at suicide or battle major depression than people who try just about any other anti-smoking treatment. I mean, really eight times?

And the FDA won’t do anything. It’s like I said in my last news letter they are too busy stopping the sale of vitamins to seriously take a look at this awful product. Want to know how strong that link is? Consider this: the researchers found that over the past 12 years, Chantix was involved in 90 percent of all suicides among people trying to quit -- but it was only on the market for four of those years! That means well over 90% of the people trying to quit in the last 4 years, who were taking chantix, who committed suicide, were taking this product. Well to me that just insane. Quite frankly, if I were a smoker, I wouldn't take this product.

I mean you might live another 50 years smoking or die from suicide in a few weeks after trying to quit by using this product. In other words, you'd have a longer life expectancy by smoking. Of course there are many proven techniques used to stop smoking that don't have suicide rates attached to them. Sounds to me like this medicine is another one of those “let me push you off the cliff drugs.” What a mess! The FDA claims their own numbers show no increase in psychiatric hospitalizations among people who use Chantix, a level of ignorance that is mind blowing. This means if you need a psychiatrist and you are hospitalized from taking this drug and you haven't killed yourself or gotten arrested for crazy behavior and you haven't ended up in a morgue the product is safe. Give me a break!

Question for you? How many successful suicides end up in the hospital? Answer: None. They're sent to the morgue. That’s right; they are statistically insignificant in determining the safety of this product, unless I guess you’re the grieving family. And that's not the only major side effect that won't show up in the FDA's hospitalization records which is one of the acid tests used by the FDA to determine a products safety. Earlier this year, researchers found that people who take Chantix are 18 times more likely to be linked to violence, aggression, and assault than those people who take other meds. But if these people are caught doing something crazy they go to jail, not the ER.

By the way, along with violence, depression, and suicide, Chantix has also been linked to everything from changes in behavior to weird dreams. Not to mention the usual array of nausea, vomiting, constipation and gas. And, for all of these side effects it FAILS to stop smoking 80% of the time. Those are statistics that I think we can all live without.

Here is  a list of supplements that can help with mood and overall well being.

TB