Trying To Quit Smoking? Don't Start With Chantix, Say Some Experts

The psychiatric side effects of a popular quit-smoking drug make it too dangerous to use as a first attempt to kick the habit, according to a new study. The authors suggest the drug should eventually be taken off the market altogether.


The new study on the safety of varenicline (Chantix), appearing in the journal PLoS One, found that when compared with other smoking-cessation treatments, including nicotine replacement and the antidepressant bupropion (Zyban), varenicline was associated with significantly more cases of suicide, self-injury and depression. Varenicline was linked to 90% of 3,249 reported cases of self-harm or depression in people using quit-smoking drugs between 1998 and 2010, the study found, compared with 3% for nicotine replacement and 7% for bupropion.  Read Here