I swear. I could not make this up

[don]

July 2, 2009
Suicide Warnings for 2 Anti-Smoking Drugs

By GARDINER HARRIS and DUFF WILSON

WASHINGTON — 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.

But officials emphasized that fear should not stop patients from taking the smoking-cessation medicines, Chantix, made by Pfizer, and Zyban, made by GlaxoSmithKline, which also sells it under the brand name Wellbutrin, for depression.

“Stopping smoking is a goal we should all be working towards,” said Dr. Curtis J. Rosebraugh, director of a drug evaluation office at the Food and Drug Administration. “We don’t want to scare people off from trying a medication that could help them achieve this goal. You should just be careful.”

The only drawback- you may off yourself. Hey, you're probably surplus anyway. Welcome to FIRE, Daddy-O.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/02/he...20drugs&st=cse

[chimsha]

Re: I swear. I could not make this up

I also read this in the ny times and it made me laugh out loud. How could they possibly make such a recommendation with a straight face. You can either take this from an "ethical" point of view: what's a few more people jumping off cliffs for the greater good of getting rid of the evils of smoking or what seems much more likely: let there be no drop in sales of the drugs in question. Big money there!! Actually you collect from all sides: huge taxes on all the poor smoking addicts plus all the money paid by these addicts to try to give it up!

[Jay]

Re: I swear. I could not make this up

Tamiflu has also been shown to increase suicidal ideation in teens. Drug prescription is always a balance. Know your patient, know the possible benefits, know the side effects, help them to make an educated decision right for them, and ensure continuity of care. The right balance for all drugs is generally different and is different for each patient.

[GRG55]

Re: I swear. I could not make this up

July 2, 2009
Suicide Warnings for 2 Anti-Smoking Drugs

By GARDINER HARRIS and DUFF WILSON

WASHINGTON — 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.

But officials emphasized that fear should not stop patients from taking the smoking-cessation medicines, Chantix, made by Pfizer, and Zyban, made by GlaxoSmithKline, which also sells it under the brand name Wellbutrin, for depression.

“Stopping smoking is a goal we should all be working towards,” said Dr. Curtis J. Rosebraugh, director of a drug evaluation office at the Food and Drug Administration. “We don’t want to scare people off from trying a medication that could help them achieve this goal. You should just be careful.”

The only drawback- you may off yourself. Hey, you're probably surplus anyway. Welcome to FIRE, Daddy-O.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/02/he...20drugs&st=cse

So if alternate drugs are needed to kick the habit does that mean we can conclude that all the printed warnings on the cigarette packages courtesy of the Surgeon General are basically ineffective?

[jk]

Re: I swear. I could not make this up

something in cigarette smoke has an antidepressant effect. a study at columbia u. showed that smokers who had failed 3 serious attempts at smoking cessation had a 50% rate of clinical depression. also antidepressants [such as wellbutrin] may induce a suicidal "mixed state" in people with bipolar disorder or a latent tendency to become bipolar. this is the likely basis for the suicidality [publicized about 5 years ago] in teenagers put on antidepressants [epidemiologically, earlier age of onset of mood disorders is associated with a higher rate of bipolarity]. saying a few people become suicidal when given one of the anti-smoking drugs is a heads up, but not a big deal. a few people will drop dead if you give enough people strawberries [not to mention peanuts].