Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration Acknowledges that Chantix Causes Suicide But Allows it On Market, While Banning E-Cigarettes with No Known Adverse Effects

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) in Australia has publicly acknowledged that Chantix causes suicide, and that the family members of patients taking this drug must carefully watch their loved ones to make sure that they don't kill themselves. Nevertheless, the TGA apparently has no problem allowing Chantix to stay on the market. Moreover, the Administration has not even required that a black box warning be placed on the drug's packaging.At the same time, the TGA has banned electronic cigarettes, another effective smoking cessation tool, despite the absence of any evidence that it causes substantial adverse side effects.According to an article on the web site of ABC News Australia: "The FDA in the US first implemented its so-called "black box" warning on Champix packets in 2009, and recently strengthened it, after a huge class action involving 3,000 litigants was settled by pharmaceutical manufacturer Pfizer. But Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) does not require a "black box" warning and Champix currently does not contain consumer medical information inside the box either. "We've been very concerned about the drug because it has so many more adverse reactions that have been reported than pretty much any other drug," Dr Zuckerman said.""But the response to Champix in Australia by health professionals and the TGA has been markedly different. "The TGA continually reviews the adverse events and we believe that Champix PMI and CMI contains the a...
Source: The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary - Category: Addiction Source Type: blogs