FDA Public Health Advisory Released for Zyban and Chantix
Manufacturers of these drugs must post warnings that alert health care providers about changes in behavior that may occur for patients using these drugs, and must also describe this information in Medication Guides for these products.
Reports of behavioral changes prompting this warning include:
- agitation
- hostility
- depression
- suicidal thoughts and/or actions
Public Health Advisory From the FDA:
People who are taking Chantix or Zyban and experience any serious and unusual changes in mood or behavior or who feel like hurting themselves or someone else should stop taking the medicine and call their healthcare professional right away.
Friends or family members who notice these changes in behavior in someone who is taking Chantix or Zyban for smoking cessation should tell the person their concerns and recommend that he or she stop taking the drug and call a health care professional right away.
FDA Public Health Advisory Press Release
Zyban and Chantix ease symptoms of nicotine withdrawal by interacting with nicotine receptors in the brain and triggering mild, nicotine-like effects.
If you are using either of these drugs, don't panic. Consider these points:- Chantix and Zyban are prescription medications for a reason. They carry a certain set of risks for the user, as do most prescription drugs. This is why it is imperative that a treatment plan be administered by your doctor, who knows your personal medical history best.
- Chantix and Zyban have not been taken off the market. The side effects, while potentially serious, affect a small percentage of those who use these drugs. Tobacco products, on the other hand, kills upwards of 50 percent of those who use them long-term.
To date, many thousands of people have been able to quit smoking successfully with the help of Zyban and Chantix. While these drugs are not the answer for everyone, they are valid options that widen the choices available to smokers looking for a way to kick this deadly addiction to the curb.
If you're taking Chantix or Zyban and have concerns about the safety of these drugs, please speak to your doctor. And if you begin to experience any unusual changes in behavior or any other side effects that concern you, get in touch with your health care provider immediately.
- Important Safety Information and Possible Side Effects - Chantix Website
- Zyban Prescribing Information - Zyban Website
Comments
I tried Chantix for 4 days and 3 nights. I managed an average of 2 hours sleep a night when I’ve never had a problem sleeping. I never slept long enough to have the vivid dreams as some users have reported. I became very anxious and ending things started coming to mind. I had never ever thought to do this before. Everyone told me I was making excuses so I didn’t have to quit. This medication did not work for me. I have 2 sisters that used it and it had worked for them. I am of normal weight and my doctor said that probably caused these dramatic symptoms. After one week off Chantix, I started the patch and I am 2 months smoke free. I was a 1 1/2 pack smoker and needed to get a handle on the emotional addiction first. There are other aids beside Chantix.
I recently tried Chantix and woke up every morning feeling hopeless about everything. Couldn’t shake it. Also had thoughts that not being alive might be better. Told my doctor and he switched me to Zyban. I then had visual hallucinations. In both cases, I waited longer than I should have to tell my doctor about side effects – because I didn’t want to give up trying to quit smoking. Don’t wait! See your doctor at the first sign of side effects.
There just isn’t one way to quit that works for everyone, is there?
while Robin had a terrible time with Chantix, i found that the combination of Chantix and generic Zyban worked very well for me—and i’m coming up on 6 months smoke-free.
it was important to me, though, to wean off the Chantix and not just stop taking it suddenly.
working with my doctor was vital!
I used Champix (Chantix’s name in Canada) for 2 weeks but I stopped because of the vivid dreams and the co$t!! I have been smoke free for 2 and a half years after going cold turkey. I tried many times before but this time I was disgusted with myself.
Thank-you Terry for sending out the info to everyone.
I should also add that the Smoking Cessation site played a huge role in my quitting and staying quit. I can’t thank you enough.
I used Chantix 3 years ago for 30 days, and have not smoked since. My dreams got strange, and as for the nausea, etc….after 30 days I made the Doc a deal I would quit smoking if I could quit the drug..lol. It worked for me and just one month of agony, but all returned to normal very quickly. I think when the truth hit…I was sitting on the couch smoking a cigerette, and saw a straw in a cup nearby. I picked up the straw in the other hand, closed my eyes and sucked on one then the other. I literally could not tell if I was sucking on the smoke or the straw. To me it showed no value in the cigerette and I gave it up.
I used Chantix to quit smoking. It was fantastic. I quit without the withdrawls that most people go through. I am also a member of About.com & Quitnet.com. Both have helped alot. The only side effect I experienced was vivid wierd dreams. I am also diagonised with depression & psychosis + sucidial behavior on occasion. Since I take my meds regurarly, these problems are well under control. Chantix did not cause any problems with me what so ever even though I am diagonised with the above problems. Chantix works great if you ask me.
I’m a hypnotherapist from Toronto, Ontario, Canada area, and I have seen many people who experienced similar problems with these drugs.
It’s unfortunate that so much emphasis is put on “nicotine” – since from my experience it is such a small part of the problem for most people.
My personal belief is that the reason is that it makes a ton of money for the drug companies. Here in Canada NRT was available by prescription only (at inflated prices), then once the insurance companies would no longer pay for it, mysteriously it was no longer necessary to have a prescription.
The real issues are:
(1) it’s a powerfully conditioned “habit” that people associate with many aspects of their life.
(2)The belief that people hold that it’s important to them and they can’t life without it.
If you were told that you couldn’t have something you believed was important to your well being, how would you respond? Would you get edgy, nervous, irritable, angry? Likely yes. What causes the reaction – it’s the self talk and pictures/mental movies that people run in their heads.
My father was a 2 1/2 pack/day smoker for over 20 years, and he just dropped it cold turkey and that was it and has been off for over 40 years. No serious withdrawal. The odd craving initially – usually with a beer. Why did he find it so easy? I believe it was because he started smoking during the war because (1) everybody did it, and (2) cigarettes were treated as currency, and he had so many cigarettes he needed to do something with them. Long after the war all the needs no longer existed, and there wasn’t really a strong emotional pull in his case, so quitting was no big deal.
If it was about the nicotine, why do I see so many smokers who can go on a transatlantic flight or some similar situation where they can’t smoke for 8-12 hours, and are just fine, but normally smoke almost a pack/day, but can’t quit?
My experience working with clients in hypnosis is that smokers have some powerful emotions attached to smoking (good times with friends, ans sometimes it gets attached to their self esteem or ability to feel confident). I have also seen smokers use smoking to numb out emotional pain. Once the emotional link is broken, the need to smoke normally disappears. It is possible that nicotine helps to create the link (just as the smell of a perfume or hot apple pie can bring back powerful memories for some people), but nicotine is not the real issue – it’s the linked emotions.
After hypnosis, I’ve only had a very few people have any withdrawal (say 1 in 20 to 25), and I think it is quite possible that the nervous/jittery feeling may be low blood sugar problems, or for some reason I wasn’t able to find the link.
A study shows that NRT use can create blood sugar issues, so there is every reason to believe that other use of nicotine could cause a similar problem.
It’s sad that hypnosis doesn’t get the credit it deserves, but with billions spent by the drug companies in advertising to push drugs and discredit any form of competing natural therapies, it’s up to the consumer to really take responsibility for their own well being.