August 22nd, 2008 04:34

Not all Quit-Smoking Products are Safe

Chantix (varenicline), a prescription medicine to help adults 18 and over stop smoking, is still available at Okinawa hospital.

Cantix, the quit-smoking product, is still an option in many military smoking-cessation programs. Many scientists found that Cantix can be effective against nicotine addiction and can be used safely with proper screening and close monitoring.

But medical officials at Yokota Air Base in Japan were concerned enough with the drug's potential safety risks that they voted recently to remove Chantix from the base pharmacy, according to Maj. Tam Dinh, 374th Medical Support Squadron pharmacy element chief.

It found a suspected association between the Pfizer drug varenicline (marketed as Chantix in the United States) and sudden loss of consciousness, seizures, muscle spasms, vision disturbances, hallucinations, paranoia, psychosis and other adverse reactions.

Two days after the institute's report, the Defense Department's Office of the Chief Medical Officer recommended that: "varenicline should not be used by personnel operating aircraft (including aircrew and air traffic controllers) and missile crew members."

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration earlier this year pushed Pfizer for new Chantix safety labels, citing a possible link to dozens of reports of suicides and hundreds of suicidal behaviors, according to the Associated Press. Pfizer added warnings to the drug's label and said that although a link to serious psychiatric problems had not been proved, it could not be ruled out, The Associated Press reported. At Yokota, Dinh said no patients on Chantix have reported any adverse reactions.

In the meantime, Yokota has suspended all refills of Chantix until patients review with their health care provider the potential risks and benefits of continuing the drug.

The medical community at U.S. naval hospitals Yokosuka and Okinawa are taking a similar approach, leaving the decision of whether to take Chantix up to the patient and his physician.

"If I can help someone stop smoking, it is among the most beneficial health changes that I can help them make for their entire life," said Lt. Cmdr. Cormac O'Connor, a family practice physician at U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka.

At U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa, Chantix is one of four medications available; the others are Zyban, nicotine gum and the nicotine patch, according to hospital spokesman Brian Davis.

Patients on Chantix are told to stop taking the drug immediately if they experience any unusual behavior or psychological effects such as depression, irritable moods, thoughts of self-harm, or withdrawal from friends and family, Davis said.

According to a new study in the United States, more than 5 million adults have been prescribed Chantix.