6.02.2008

Smoking Cessation Drug = Life Cessation

This one just blows me away. Have you tried the Chantix to quit smoking? Yet another SSRI on the market to treat any old condition (smoking, despression, obesity, social anxiety - what's the difference?)

Here's a new catch, the drug has been banned for truck drivers, pilots, and traffic controllers due to its side effects (another example of the odd movement disorders associated with SSRI's). According to the Wall Street Journal's Health blog:

"More than 100 traffic or personal accidents, like falling, have been linked to Chantix in a recent study by outside researchers; their figures came from in the FDA’s adverse events database. One hypothesis is that convulsions, blackouts, seizures or spasms could have contributed to such incidents."
I read one account about a guy driving his truck while on Chantix and crashed into a bayou:
"His girlfriend, Melinda Lofton, who was with him, later told him that his eyes had rolled back in his head and that it had seemed as if he was frozen at the wheel, accelerating."
That one really spooked me. God, I need a cigarette...

(This is linked from Furious Seasons)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The main doses of chantix medication are 0.5mg and 1mg tablets. At the start of the treatment, you need to take the lower dose and then increase it after few weeks. The recommended dose of chantix should be swallowed as a whole with a glass of water. The treatment period with chantix medication extends to about 12 weeks. http://www.chantixhome.com/