No end in sight for the negative and extremely disturbing news about Pfizer’s alleged stop smoking drug Chantix (Champix in Europe):

The blood thinner Heparin as well as the alleged smoking cessation drug Chantix accounted for the major share of 21,000 reports of serious drug reactions that the Food And Drug Administration received in the first 3 months of this year alone!

This was concluded after an analysis by the Institute For Safe Medications Pratices.

Please also refer to the "Chantix / Champix" section of this blog for more information and the history on this topic.

For detailed information on a completely safe and highly effective way to quit smoking with my breakthrough hypnosis technique browse the pages of this website.

- Franc Tausch, PhD, CCHT

The number of serious drug reactions and deaths reported to the government shot up in the first three months of this year to set a new record, a health industry watchdog group said Wednesday.

The Food and Drug Administration received nearly 21,000 reports of serious drug reactions, including more than 4,800 deaths, said an analysis of federal data by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices.

Two drugs accounted for a large share of the latest reports. One was the blood thinner heparin. The other was Chantix, a new kind of anti-smoking drug from Pfizer.

Earlier this year, the FDA warned that Chantix may be linked to psychiatric problems, including suicidal behavior and vivid dreams. Pfizer said Wednesday it stands by Chantix, and that the volume of reports might be linked to publicity about the side effects.

”The FDA is aware of the increasing number of reports, and we take them seriously,” said spokesman Christopher DiFrancesco. But officials are not sure whether reports are up because problems are getting worse, or simply due to greater awareness about drug safety issues.

The watchdog group that prepared the analysis has served hospitals and pharmacists for years as a clearinghouse for information on medication errors. Known as ISMP, the organization is now trying to reach consumers with regular reports on drug safety trends.

”We believe that one of the most important tools to promote is to monitor trends on a regular basis,” said Thomas J. Moore, a senior scientist with ISMP. ”Knowing which drugs are causing injuries and how many people are being hurt is the raw material we need to fashion sound measures to promote patient safety.”

The FDA defines serious drug reactions as ones that cause hospitalization, require medical intervention, or place a life in jeopardy. The agency’s monitoring system relies on voluntary reports from doctors and is only believed to capture a fraction of overall problems.

The 20,745 cases reported from January through March was 38 percent higher than the average for the previous four calendar quarters, and the highest for any quarter, the report said.

The number of deaths, 4,824, was a nearly threefold increase from the last calendar quarter of 2007. The FDA said heparin was largely to blame.

The ISMP study found that heparin accounted for 779 reports of serious problems, including 102 deaths.

Heparin ”illustrates an example of a significant drug safety problem that was promptly and effectively resolved by the drug manufacturers and the FDA once the issue was detected and understood,” the report said.

Not so with Chantix, it concluded.

The FDA should forcefully warn patients taking Chantix that they may have blackouts that could lead to accidents, the report said. Current warnings say patients may be too impaired to drive or operate heavy machinery, but such language is standard for many medications. The government has banned the drug for pilots.

The report found 15 cases of Chantix patients who appeared to have been involved in traffic accidents, and 52 additional cases involving blackouts or loss of consciousness. The FDA said it taking a second look at the Chantix warnings.

The agency received 1,001 reports of serious injuries linked to Chantix, more than for the 10 best-selling brand name drugs combined.

Chantix ”continued to provide a striking signal of safety issues that require investigation and action,” the report said. The authors acknowledged Pfizer’s concern that publicity may be driving up the number of reports, but concluded there’s enough evidence to warrant stronger FDA action.

[Click below for the entire article]

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If you are a smoker in the Los Angeles area you may as well decide to quit smoking now - before the government will make that decision for you. Ignore this and find yourself paying up to $500 in fines:

After Thousand Oaks, Baldwin Park, and South Pasadena, the city of Pasadena is set to be the next place in Southern California that may enforce a smoking ban that will make it extremely hard to find a place in public to light up. The ordinance could take effect in 30 days.

- Franc Tausch, PhD, CCHT

The City Council voted Monday to enact a smoking ban that would put extensive restrictions on smoking outdoors in non-residential areas of the city.

The new rules will prohibit smoking in outdoor shopping and dining areas, in ATM and movie ticket lines, within 20 feet of building entrances and at outdoor events like the Rose Parade. That would make it nearly impossible to smoke in Old Pasadena, and other commercial districts of the city.

Violators would be fined $100 for a first offense, $200 for a second and $500 for third or subsequent violations, according to staff reports. Smoking in parks is already prohibited in the city.

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A person who recently quit smoking will not be triggered into a relapse because they smell cigarette smoke! A study further revealed that this is even the case if the ex-smoker considers that smell to be pleasant.

Franc Tausch, PhD, CCHT

A regression analysis showed that a return to smoking was a function of general urges, not smoke-related cravings, Hayden McRobbie, M.B.Ch.B., of Auckland University of Technology, and colleagues reported in the November issue of Addiction.

And reporting that the smell of smoke was pleasant had no relationship to the risk of relapse.

"Recent quitters can be reassured that finding the smell of cigarette smoke pleasant is not likely to lead them back to smoking," Dr. McRobbie said.

Patients in smoking cessation programs have a variety of reactions to the smell of other people’s smoke, ranging from disgust to temptation, according to the researchers.

To investigate whether these reactions affect the risk of relapse shortly after quitting, they analyzed data from 1,110 patients (mean age 47; 55% female) attending a smoking cessation treatment center in London.

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This quote from New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg on quitting smoking is just too good to pass it up… Bloomberg is a former smoker himself, by the way.

- Franc Tausch, PhD, CCHT

“It’s relatively easy to stop, and once you stop, you’re going to feel so much superior to those who do smoke that there’s instant gratification.”

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As of today, drugstores in San Francisco can no longer sell cigarettes.

While this basically sounds like a good idea, it is limited to drugstores only! Meaning: Any grocery store with a pharmacy in it can actually continue to sell cigarettes in San Francisco!!!

Lawmakers argue that sick folks shouldn’t be confronted with cancer-causing products when getting their medications at drugstores. – So what about the masses of people who get their prescriptions at a pharmacy at Safeway’s or CostCo?

Needless to say, the Walgreen’s chain and Philip Morris have filed lawsuites against San Francisco, contending this distinction violates the law.

Believe me, I am all for that kind of ban - but it should make more sense than what the city came up with thus far.

- Franc Tausch, PhD, CCHT

Click below for a complete article on this topic from the San Francisco Chronicle

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