American Legacy Foundation Gives Medical Advice to Smokers About Cessation Drugs, But Fails to Disclose Conflict of Interest with Makers of the Recommended Drugs

In a public statement of February 28, the American Legacy Foundation has this medical advice for smokers who are considering quitting using electronic cigarettes: Don't. Instead, use nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) or Chantix.According to the statement: "Given the poor quality control of these products, consumers are taking unknown risks by using e-cigarettes, with few proven benefits. Until adequate research and regulation is in place, users should be wary of using e-cigarettes, and smokers who want to quit should pursue science-based effective cessation tools, such as nicotine replacement products, free counseling services available via telephone quit lines and Web-based cessation services, as well as non-nicotine pharmacotherapies."One of these "non-nicotine pharmacotherapies" is of course Chantix, which has been associated with hundreds of deaths from suicide or other severe forms of violence. The number of lawsuits against Pfizer for deaths or severe injuries allegedly due to Chantix use exceeds 3,000.Despite these severe adverse effects that have been associated with the use of Chantix, the American Legacy Foundation fails to give these effects so much as a mention in its statement.While Legacy avoids making any mention of the known risks of Chantix, it does emphasize the unknown risks of electronic cigarettes, which the Foundation cannot articulate because so far, none have been clearly identified or documented.While it is problematic that Legacy is presentin...
Source: The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary - Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Source Type: blogs