Chantix & Violence: What Patients Have In Common

For the past three years, the Chantix smoking cessation pill has caused a stir after being associated with suicidal behavior and vivid dreams. Consequently, the government banned the Pfizer drug for pilots and licenses wouldn't be issued to truck drivers taking the med. The FDA subsequently imposed a risk management program and Pfizer added warnings.
Now, a new study in The Annals of Pharmacotherapy finds Chantix is not only associated with violent and agressive thoughts and acts, but has also identified some of the common characteristics among people using the pill and their subsequent behavior. The drug "does have warnings about psychiatric side effects, but it skims over aggression/violence towards others to focus mainly on suicidal behaviors," says Thomas Moore, one of the co-authors and a senior scientist at the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, a non-profit that has issued reports previously about Chantix side effects.