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Champix review: 14 days on Champix ruined my life, Doc.

“Further to my post (number 87, posted in June 2009) I’m still suffering the same symptoms two and a half years down the line, I’ve been through over 2 years of tests, have lost my job, almost lost wife and children and now, the doctors finally say that they feel that it was Champix that has caused all this. In the very next breath they also said that proving it will be almost impossible and that getting any legal recourse will be even harder, so there we are – 38 years old and basically on the scrap heap until they can hopefully figure out a way to deal with my symptoms. So where do I go from here, I don’t know, the doctors don’t know either, I’ve used all my savings just to live the last couple of years and I can’t function day to day, legal action would be futile and I cant fund it, so all I can do is sit and stare out the window and watch the world go by…

Chantix Champix Reviews: How long does the suffering have to go on?

*Update 1: If you or a loved one has suffered a bad reaction to Champix and you are based in the U.K., you can report it to the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) here. The more people do that the clearer the true picture will become. Protect others! Report it.*

**Update 2, 4th November 2011:

The American Food & Drug Administration (FDA) were recently reported in the Business section of the Washington Post as reassuring smokers that Chantix (known as Champix everywhere outside the USA) “does not increase psychiatric problems”, according to two small studies involving 26,000 smokers. Since this flies in the face of everything else they know about Chantix already, it is surely irresponsible to say such a thing at this time, because the caveats added to the story further down do not carry anything like the weight of the inevitable headline. Meanwhile, this article in the Daily Mail reports a study which states exactly the opposite.

Why? Because the Daily Mail is not bending over backward to assist the pharmaceutical industry – even at the expense of smokers’ lives, if that’s what it takes – whereas the FDA very clearly is. The testing and approvals system is corrupt as hell, using every possible means of dragging their feet so that Chantix/Champix stays on the market and remains ‘approved’ regardless of how many individual smokers’ lives are ruined by the drug.

The Truth Will Out Campaign has been trying to alert smokers (and doctors) to the dangers of this drug since Autumn of 2008 – so these unnecessary delays drive me pretty crazy – but just imagine the frustration of this commentator on the new Daily Mail report:

“Oh now they make this a huge statement. My mom used it in mid 2007. She ended up in a mental hospital. Thanks Champix. This stuff shouldn’t even be on the market!!! I still can’t understand why it is, with all these accounts of suicide! I read horror story’s back then after this happened to my mom about people killing themselves or having illness such as bi-polar disorder activated in them. My rule with all drugs is, if it hasn’t been on the market for more then 10 years…DO NOT take it. You never want to be the guinea pig. Sorry for all those who ended their lives because they were manipulated this drug.

– Danielle, USA,
3/11/2011 6:08”

***Update 3, 21st October 2012: Pfizer settle first Chantix suicide case out of court http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-18/pfizer-settles-first-chantix-suicide-case-set-for-trial.html?cmpid=yhoo

14 Days on Champix Ruined My Life, Doc

by hypnotherapist Chris Holmes

I just had an update from Andy, who took Champix (Chantix) for only 14 days. That was two and a half years ago, and this update is the latest reason I believe this medication should be withdrawn immediately. This was the original message from Andy in 2009:

“I started taking Champix on December 1st 08 and took them for 14 days, during the time I took them I felt progressively more and more ill, I contacted my doctor twice and was told its normal to feel ill on them and to keep taking them. On 14 th December 08 I was admitted to hospital with chest pains, 1 week later and a lot of tests I was discharged, no diagnosis, just sent home, since then I have been diagnosed with Diabetes and Reynauds Syndrome, have balance problems, problems with my endocrine system and have been off of work (now lost my job), so how do you go from healthy to feeling ill and being admitted to hospital in 14 days, then 6 months later have the same mystery symptoms, my guess is that as Champix works on receptors in the brain it messes with a whole lot more than just dopamine receptors.

“Can I prove this? The answer is no. I’m a layman and the doctors tell me it isn’t the case, they know because they looked on the manufacturers website, so coincidently within the 2 week period I was using champix I turned diabetic, suffered circulatory problems, endocrine system problems and lost my balance and gained vision that comes and goes as it wants, lost the ability to work, drive my car and generally do things that normal people do, also I dont know where the end of this is, nor do the doctors.. If you google Chantix lawsuit you will find that in the US there are a whole heap of people with similar problems to those I’ve suffered, and am suffering now, find another way to give up smoking, I wish I had….”

So how has Andy fared since then? Has it all worn off, is he back to his normal self? Did the advice to stop taking Champix if you suffer any ill effects save him? After all, he was only on it for 14 days. Here’s Andy again:

“Further to my post (number 87, posted in June 2009) I’m still suffering the same symptoms 2.5 years down the line, I’ve been through over 2 years of tests, have lost my job, almost lost wife and children and now, the doctors finally say that they feel that it was Champix that has caused all this.

“In the very next breath they also said that proving it will be almost impossible and that getting any legal recourse will be even harder, so there we are, 38 years old and basically on the scrap heap until they can hopefully figure out a way to deal with my symptoms.

“So where do I go from here, I dont know, the doctors dont know either, I’ve used all my savings just to live the last couple of years and I cant function day to day, legal action would be futile and I cant fund it, so all I can do is sit and stare out the window and watch the world go by, happy days 🙁 ”

So I thought that Andy’s dreadful outcome deserved a post all to itself. After all, it originally appeared on the thread of comments following my “Champix Chantix 4 – Enough Already” post back in 2008, when I was suggesting that too much suffering had already resulted from this horrible drug. Evidently Pfizer and Andy’s doctors did not agree: they had to ruin his life as well, and many others all over the world. Perhaps Andy’s doctors have finally started to get the message but it is way too late for Andy, and now they are suggesting that nothing can be done legally. Actually I beg to differ Andy, let’s not assume that. Failure to withdraw this drug immediately has to be negligence. Every single victim deserves compensation when the dangers were known YEARS AGO. Andy is not the only one to develop diabetes after taking Champix, despite being perfectly healthy beforehand. Check this little lot:

And that was published in May 2008 – six months BEFORE the drug was given to Andy. This killer drug is still being aggressively marketed and there are still doctors and “quit counsellors” handing it out with scarcely any warnings at all. It’s CRIMINAL.

Sufferers: report it. Doctors: don’t prescribe it. Smokers: don’t take it. Pharmacists: don’t stock it. BMA, NICE, MHRA, FDA… you are all responsible for this rogue drug ruining innocent people’s lives. For Christ’s sake, STOP IT NOW. Personally I think that YOU are the ones that should be sued… along with Pfizer, let’s not forget them. They know it hardly works for anyone in the long run anyway, only in the short term. 86% failure at one year. Do you think Andy would have ever taken it if he had known THAT? Do you think ANYONE would? Champix is just the latest fraudulent “wonder drug”, but in terms of the damage it is probably the worst yet. Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if any of these drug giants has another nasty little concoction all ready for the hype train that turns out to be even worse, because the testing procedures are no longer looking at the long term effects or results of any new medications now: if it shows ANYTHING that looks like a positive effect, that’s it! That’s all you need, stop the trial right there, get out the big rubber stamp of approval and off we go again.

Alarmingly quick to approve, criminally slow to withdraw – that’s the FDA and the MHRA for you, and that’s why I’m calling them all lackeys of the pharmaceutical industry. And it’s people like Andy and his family who are paying the price for this global drug profiteering.

Nothing we can do, Doc? I’ll tell you what we CAN do, for a start: lose all faith in your ill-informed ‘advice’ – which is no more than drug company hype – and don’t take the tablets. It has really come to something when it takes two years for the patient to get their own doctor to realise what is wrong with the pills, hasn’t it? For shame, Doctor.

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Related posts

Champix Chantix murders and suicide

Champix Chantix suicide

Champix Chantix seizures and epilepsy

44% success rate? No, 86% failure rate for Champix Chantix

More smokers’ comments follow this post

More smokers’ reviews of Champix Chantix

My original post on Champix Chantix April 2008, and almost 300 comments that followed

The Truth Will Out, Pfizer!

Champix Chantix 9: Varenicline, murders and suicide

I first heard of Champix (Chantix in the U.S.), otherwise known as varenicline, in May 2007. By July 2008 I had already learned enough about it to arrive at the conclusion that it should never have been passed as if it were safe for use in the UK, Canada or Australia because it was already clear it was causing serious harm in the United States. Before another year had gone by I had made it an express aim of the Truth Will Out Campaign to call for the withdrawal of this extremely unpredictable killer drug. (See Homepage for the original aims of The T.W.O. Campaign.)

*Update: If you or a loved one has suffered a bad reaction to Champix and you are based in the U.K., you can report it to the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) here. The more people do that the clearer the true picture will become. Protect others! Report it.*

Why Champix Should Be Withdrawn Immediately by Chris Holmes

Finally – and this has taken far too long – the call has begun for Champix to be withdrawn from sale because of the dreadful damage it has done to so many smokers and their families. Dr Michael Siegel, a Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences at Boston University School of Public Health has explained why the Black Box Warning on the medication – the strongest type of safety warning there is – is still not sufficient to protect the public. His voice should not be ignored: Dr Siegel has 25 years experience in the field of tobacco control and has published nearly 70 papers on tobacco. This is what he says about Pfizer’s dangerous brain-boiling tablet:

http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/04/rest-of-story-calls-for-removal-of.html

http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/04/chantix-why-black-box-warning-is-not.html

I’ve Been Saying This For Years Now

That was two years ago. The foot-dragging of medical authorities all over the world with regard to this evil medication has become truly obscene. Most recently, New Zealand’s medicines approval body Pharmac – which had hesitated over Champix because of serious concerns regarding its safety – finally did a special ‘package deal’ with Pfizer involving the licensing of a number of drugs, including Champix, making it shockingly clear that their former concerns about the safety of New Zealand smokers could be negotiated away if the price was right. Never mind that the link with suicides was already well established. Never mind the fact that by this time, it was apparent that the true success rate of the drug (at the one-year follow-up stage) was only about 14%. The press in New Zealand churned out the familiar marketing hype about the 55% ‘success rate’ once achieved at the 12 week stage in clinical trials, and a Pfizer spokesperson added the platitude that the “benefits outweighed the risks”. What they really meant was, the benefits to THEM outweighed any risks to smokers lives, jobs, health, relationships, liberty etc. as far as THEY were concerned… risks which Pfizer continue to deny can be conclusively linked to the drug anyway.

*Would you like to reply to that denial? If you or a loved one has suffered a bad reaction to Champix and you are based in the U.K., you can report it to the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) here. The more people do that the clearer the true picture will become. Protect others! Report it. If you live elsewhere, Google “How do I report a bad reaction to a medication in…” (wherever)*

Smokers’ Testimony Doesn’t Count

… as far as Pfizer are concerned, that is. This is why I encourage all those smokers who have suffered a bad reaction to report it, and make sure their doctor uses the official channels to make that report count. And although a recent report found that Champix/Chantix was 18 times more likely to be associated with violent behaviour than any of the other 484 drugs in the study – making it the worst offender of all in terms of aggressive reactions – that is STILL only using the data from the limited number of cases where an official complaint was made against the medication.

Smokers’ testimony counts here, though, on Truth Will Out. Already we know, from such testimony, that:

– many smokers are STILL not being warned about ANY risks associated with the medication

– many doctors and other medical personnel don’t know much about risks anyway, or dismiss it as ‘media hype’

– many smokers are okay on the drug at first. THEN it gets nasty

– early results seem much more promising than long-term outcomes actually are

– the last two points have generated massive amounts of PREMATURE praise for the drug

– many sufferers of bad reactions did not know that the drug was to blame

– very bad side effects continue in some people long after coming off the drug.

It seems inevitable that suicidal or violent behaviour in individual cases over the last four years may well have been blamed on the individual rather than the drug. In court cases or inquests all over the world it seems likely that the connection would probably have been missed, or perhaps dismissed as an attempted excuse. Certainly the actor Nicolas Williams was thought by some commentators at the time to be using that connection as a way of getting off an assault charge, when he was cleared by a court last June. But how many have been convicted?

In July last year, Andrew Case killed his two young daughters and his wife, then hanged himself. He had been taking Champix, but at the inquest it was stated that none of the drug was found in his blood. Did the people conducting that inquest fully understand that the horror continues for many Champix victims, sometimes long after the drug is discontinued? PRETTY IMPORTANT FACT TO BE AWARE OF, DON’T YOU THINK?

A Sure-Fire Way To Get At The Truth About Champix

When people die by their own hand – or as a result of violence, there is always a post-mortem examination. In this country, and I’m sure in many others, if that person is on any medication from their doctor, a note of this is made as part of the post-mortem and inquest proceedings. However, if they blew their brains out with a shotgun – or someone else’s brains – then the cause of death is recorded as Death By Shooting. If they were taking Champix at the time, the cause of death is listed as… Death By Shooting. This means if Champix really caused that death, Pfizer got away with it.

I suggest that the obvious thing to do is to look back over ALL the violent deaths and suicides which have happened over the last four years, and find out how many of those people were taking Chantix or Champix at the time. Then compare this information with the same types of cases in the previous four years before that, to see if the Great Global Champix Experiment threw up a spike in the incidence of violent assault, murder and suicide. Might also be a good idea for anyone accused or convicted of violent behaviour during that time to check for a Champix connection if that was not the way they usually behave. I’m sure this kind of information could be demanded by anyone under the Freedom of Information Act here in the UK, or obtained by lawyers involved in cases against Pfizer over Chantix/Champix. Even though this would still be missing the cases where the drug was bought, not prescribed, it would be a very good indicator of the drug’s actual role in all these horror stories and – even if not conclusive in any individual case – enough to get the monstrous concoction banned.

That inevitable event cannot come soon enough. How many more have to die, Doc?

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This Blog is about Nicotine, Not Champix!

by Chris Holmes

OK it is time to get focussed! When I launched the Truth Will Out Campaign back in March 2008, it was to blow the whistle on the Global Nicotine Scam, not to spend the rest of my working life discussing Champix… or Chantix to give it the alias it goes by in the United States. Varenicline. Doesn’t matter what you call it, it still doesn’t work very well unless what you’re after is a mental breakdown and the loss of everything that is dear to you.

That drug is based upon the notion that smokers smoke because of nicotine – an idea which doesn’t stand up to any serious scrutiny, it’s just that no-one was scrutinising it until I published Nicotine: The Drug That Never Was in 2007.

Since then, a study done by Dr Reuven Dar from Tel Aviv University’s Psychology Department (link follows) has confirmed exactly what I was saying in that book: namely that smokers’ cravings are not withdrawal symptoms, and indeed are not related to nicotine levels in any way. Smoking is NOT a drug addiction, it just looks like one if you don’t know the difference between an addiction and a compulsive habit. And doctors currently do not, which is why I wrote the book. To understand the difference, you need to understand how the human Subconscious mind organises and repeats compulsive habitual behaviour. As a hypnotherapist, I’ve spent more than a decade shutting down habits like that with hypnotherapy, usually in one session.

I have done that with thousands of individuals, one at a time. It is not a trick. It is not a parlour game. It is a process of communication and anyone can respond to it if they choose. It is all explained in the book – available as a paperback (£16.95) or a download (£5). The fact is, both Champix Chantix and Nicotine Replacement Products are all based on a myth in the first place, and that is why they usually fail. Shame that smokers usually blame themselves for that failure, when they should be blaming those lousy methods!

the book that blew the whistle on the nicotine scam

The Science

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…and then there is this! We are quite simply right about this. Sorry, Doc! Sorry, NiQuitin! The Nicotine Tale turned out to be an embarrassing medical error leading to a collosal global scam.

Can Champix (Chantix) Cause Seizures/Epilepsy?

by hypnotherapist Chris Holmes

N.B. Please read the comments after this post, as it now transpires that no-one should be prescribed Champix without having a particular gene test FIRST, or it could trigger epilepsy in people with no previous history of epilepsy.

Check this out Widow Sues Pfizer

There is a link in that story to the actual lawsuit, and in that there is mention of evidence that Chantix not only triggers suicides, but many other nasty side effects including seizures. Recently I was contacted by a very distressed person who started having severe epileptic fits only two months after starting on the drug, and it has ruined that person’s life.

If anyone else has had seizures or developed epilepsy after taking this drug – or knows of anyone who has – with no previous history of either condition before taking it, please let us know.

The manufacturers of Champix/Chantix, Pfizer, have an impressive criminal record according to this article by Neil Byrne from 2009:

This week Pfizer settled with the Department of Justice for $2.3 billion, the largest health care fraud settlement in the history of the DOJ. It resolved their criminal and civil liability arising from the illegal promotion of certain pharmaceutical products. Pfizer “off labeled” drugs for uses the FDA didn’t previously approve of. $1 billion was allocated to resolve allegations under the civil False Claims Act that Pfizer illegally promoted the drugs Bextra, Geodon an anti-psychotic drug, Zyvox, an antibiotic, and Lyrica, an anti-epileptic drug. What is worse is that Pfizer is a habitual criminal company since they have been found guilty before in a similar case.

Tony West the DOJ Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division was quoted by news releases, “Illegal conduct and fraud by pharmaceutical companies puts the public health at risk, corrupts medical decisions by health care providers, and costs the government billions of dollars”. Perhaps this massive fine will curtail Pfizer to some degree, but they will likely need at least three strikes. We think this is the beginning of more and more lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies for cross labeling, inadequate tests and warnings, and drugs that create suicidal thoughts, and aggressive behavior. Consumers need to fully perform their due diligence before taking drugs which have clear controversial effects. Chantix and Zyban have a new warning that the drug can produce suicidal thoughts and behavior. Do you want to stop smoking or stop life?

Full article here.

If you live in the U.S. and are connected to a Chantix suicide case, this may be helpful to you.

If you just want to stop smoking safely and easily, more info here.

*Update, 27.02.12. In EVERY SMOKER a gene test is required before Champix can be prescribed to make sure you do not have any genetic mutations that would make Champix trigger seizures. Failure to do this in each and every smokers is “playing poker with peoples’ lives”.

Samantha Dearnaley has sent in this rather technical update from her own research… note the P.S. at the end:

Hi Chris,

just thought I would send you this: Mutations in either a4 or b2 subunits can cause autosomal nocturnal epilepsy. There is evidence that
ADNFLE can be due to dysfunction of neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAchR). The responsible mutation was subsequently identified as a missense mutation which replaces a serine into phenylalanine (ser248phe) in the a4 subunit gene (CHRNA4) of the neuronal nAchR. This mutation affects the second transmembrane domain (M2) which has been shown to form the wall of the ion channel. This has been the first, and to date only, mutation described in an idiopathic epilepsy. Mutations in mitochondrial DNA, cystatin B and defects causing abnormal neuronal storage, all resulting in neuronal destruction.

Varenicline an a4b2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor partial agonist, as you can see it works by binding to the same receptors a4b2. I have got this info from Oxford journals, Human molecular genetics.

Kind Regards

Samantha Dearnaley.

PS. I have had another person got in touch yesterday with similar thing, again after Champix. People who want to take this drug should have a gene test done, to see if they have any mutations before they take it, to stop this happening to other people. Its like playing poker with peoples lives. Would this drug still end up costing the NHS less that NRT if they had to do a gene test on everyone? I don’t think so.

[Chris says: Not sure it costs less than NRT anyway, though that may have been the hype. Latest research from Harvard proves NRT doesn’t work at all in the long run – no better than willpower, anyway – didn’t someone say that years ago, though? Oh yes, it was ME! Thanks Harvard! But they’re still prescribing it, aren’t they? “Evidence-Based-Medicine”, folks! Evidence is all that’s required to make it bona fide – any evidence will do – even hard evidence that it doesn’t work at all!]

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Depression, Champix: Doctor, NO!

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to my email and you may certainly reproduce it on your website using my full name, I’m happy to support your campaign as much as I can. I will also write a review on Lulu for the book. I always read the reviews so it is nice to have a recent one to read when making a decision.
Chris, I look forward to purchasing Vol. II and my dad is eagerly waiting for me to finish Vol. I so he can read it too ( he doesn’t smoke) as he is very interested in the smoke and mirrors that health professionals/Pharmaceutical companies pass off as fact to the public all in the name of profits.

Rachel Whalen wrote:
Hi Chris,
I have had clinical depression from a very young age and over the years have
found a medication that lets me live a normal life. I work in an interesting
field (forensics) and have a loving home and family life. My doctor who issues
me with my medication offered, quite sincerely, to give me a script for Champix
to assist me when I asked about giving up the smokes. I was shocked that she
would do this knowing my history. Needless to say I told her I would get back to
her on that and promptly went home and started researching Champix in earnest
which is how I came across you site. I ordered your book from Lulu.com and am
now half way through it. What you are saying makes total sense to me and I have
chosen a reputable hypnotherapist which I will be seeing in a few weeks. I am
really looking forward to stopping smoking and getting rid of that compulsive
behaviour the safe way. I can only imagine the kind of hell I could have
experienced had I just blindly took my doctors offer. Thank you, Chris.

Just in case anyone still doesn’t know, Champix should NOT be prescribed to anyone with a history of depression according to current medical guidelines. These are not the only smokers that have been severely affected by “psychiatric events” whilst taking Champix, but the risk is certainly higher. So why the hell is this happening over and over again all over the world? Don’t doctors bother to read the guidelines?

Anyway, I asked Rachel if it was okay to reproduce her email here – anonymously if she preferred, to which she replied today:

Hi Chris,

Ah, splendid. It seems the Truth Will Out Campaign is getting its message across to the public, if not the medical profession. In this case, the patient was fortunately more clued-up about the medication than the Doctor. Scary, that, isn’t it?

Nicotine: The Drug That Never Was (Volume II: A Change of Mind) is available now as an ebook, a pdf or a paperback. The Nicotine Myth is doomed, it is only a matter of time now.

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Champix Chantix Reviews, Reactions, Depression and Side Effects

by Chris Holmes

Here are just a few of the other websites and blogs – totally unrelated to this one – where smokers have been reporting their personal experiences with this very unpredictable drug. Smokers have been told that horrific side effects are “very rare”, because that is what doctors and clinicians have been told themselves. These reports tell a very different story so before you take Champix/Chantix, read from all these sites, including mine. Ignore my opinions if you like – I’m pretty skeptical about pharmaceuticals generally, though not entirely of course. But all the comments on this site in the Champix Chantix blog section that come from ordinary smokers are well worth reading because they represent the sum total of all the comments that have come in, I haven’t edited any of it or left anything out.

Then if you compare that with some of these other sites, you see a pattern forming that is really quite terrifying, and look how often these smokers are calling for Champix to be withdrawn or banned, based on their own experience. Smokers were told this drug has a 50% success rate, or at least 44%. It certainly does not, the long-term outcomes may be as low as 14%, or 22% at best. Considering that these bad reactions are often utterly random and impossible to predict or avoid, it’s a hell of a lot to risk for not much chance of long-term success, especially when there are more successful methods of quitting which do not involve any risk at all – hypnotherapy, the Allen Carr books and acupuncture consistently proving the most popular. Personally I have been conducting hypnotherapy sessions for over a decade: it is simply a communication process so it is perfectly safe and very effective. I mention the other two approaches because I know they work more often than Champix does in terms of lasting success, and they are both SAFE. My advice is simply to try the methods that CANNOT harm you before risking anything that could.

Well, don’t take my word for it, just read this stuff for yourself, see what you think. Take care.

safest way to quit smoking

The ‘Benefits’ of Champix (Champix Chantix 8)

Patricia McLinden (Renfrewshire, Scotland): “Brian was a quiet guy who lived for his wife and daughter… he loved the wild life, he kept falcons, birds of prey and gun dogs… he was a free man who loved life… then that changed… this drug must be stopped, I will do everything in my power to stop it… I’ve told you my story as best I could through my tears, Chris can you edit my story and make it clearer? You can use my real name Patricia McLinden, I’ve nothing to lose. I’ve lost my diamond my luvvy Brian… 26 years we were together…I’m broken now.”

Pfizer continue to market Champix aggressively

In the post below this one, a Pfizer spokeswoman is quoted as suggesting that the benefits of Champix “outweigh the risks”.

I refute that, first on the basis that the “benefits” being suggested – up to 50% success – are sheer hype, the real long-term outcome being about 14% success, which is rubbish. Secondly because the damage being done by Champix (Chantix in the U.S.) goes largely unreported, as was very nearly the case with Patricia McLinden’s story.

UNTOLD Misery Caused By Champix

As far as Pfizer is concerned, if a case of Champix side effects causing harm or death isn’t actually reported through the official channels, then IT DIDN’T HAPPEN. They know perfectly well that a certain proportion of bereaved spouses or family members won’t even know that their loved one was taking medication, and even the ones that do may well not realise that it can cause that kind of harm. So that’s two batches of victims for which Pfizer will never have to answer, and when the drug is being monitored for risk, none of that will be taken into account.

In all processes of risk assessment, the only data that will ever be considered is the data which passes through the official channels of complaint against the medication. Yet the drug company know that many people who suffer side effects do not realise they are caused by Champix, or even that they ARE side effects. Brian’s case demonstrates just how tragic this can be, because it is the mind that is affected so he couldn’t assess himself, and Patricia had no idea that Champix – which is, after all, an ‘approved’ medication – could change someone’s personality so rapidly, especially since he had taken it before:

“My husband started taking Champix last year, then came off them because they made him feel sick, bad nightmares… sleep was so bad. March 2010 he started taking them again. I noticed a change in him, I said: “Brian, what’s wrong? You’re so moody and grumpy!” He said he was tired. I said: “It’s your job, with the heavy work”, but he still woke up in the middle of the night, going to the bathroom then downstairs for a cig. On April 8th I came home from work, Brian was not himself. I said: “What’s up luvvy?” He said “I’m tired”, then went to bed. April 9th he phoned his work, said he was not going in and was taking a week’s holiday. Friday was a lovely day so I said “Let’s go out”, but he would not…

“10th April Brian went out for a walk with the dogs. He was away for hours, so I went to look for him. I found him wandering the fields with his dog and his gun… Saturday night Brian took his Champix after dinner… [Editor: N.B. this clearly indicates that neither of them suspected the medication at all, even at this point in developments] …watched TV, he was very quiet. Then things went wrong: he was a bit on edge, so I said “What’s up luvvy, tell me please, Brian!” He said “It’s okay Trish, I’m fine.”

“11th April: 10.30 am Brian went out with the dogs. He phoned me every hour, saying he loved me, he’s sorry for ruining my life… I said “I’m driving to come and get you,” but he said “No”. He was not Brian on the phone, paranoid about stuff, talking rubbish… so I phoned the police. He texted me “I LOVE YOU”… then he shot himself at 2.45 pm 11th April 2010.”

Pfizer, your lousy medication has no benefits that outweigh these risks, you ruthless, heartless, money-grabbing bastards. If I were that spokesperson, and I read this account I would quit my post immediately, and do some sort of penance, for fear that I would never sleep peacefully again.

Two Further Chances for the Story to Remain Untold

Patricia first contacted me through the “Contact Us” email facility on the Truth Will Out site, but as I get quite a lot of marketing spam through that, my spam filter had chucked it into the Junk Mail file and I hadn’t noticed. Once I picked it up, I began an email exchange and at some point I asked Patricia at what point did she make the connection with Champix? Obviously she might never have done, just as I might never have noticed her email in the junk file. She said that after Brian’s death she received an email “from his friend in the USA asking me about him taking Champix, then it just hit me. I read the information about it, and found that that was the cause of his behaviour.”

In the USA, the Champix Experiment has been going on for a few years now, they’re a bit ahead of us. The first Champix-related death to hit the headlines in the USA was that of Carter Albrecht which happened in 2007. That tragedy, and all those that have followed have (mysteriously) done nothing to prevent country after country “approving” this largely useless and completely unpredictable drug.

To Any Skeptics

If you have stumbled upon this and are inclined to think that this is just one case, and therefore inconclusive, please read all the comments that have followed all the posts that touch on the subject of Champix published on this site, then look at all the other Champix horror stories on the ‘net. I believe you will see a pattern forming.

Patricia emailed me today : “I will never settle in my life until this drug is stopped… Chris thank you so much for all your help. Please put my real name, and my late husband. Let me know if there is anything more I can do to get this evil drug stopped.”

Now stop it from happening in New Zealand too

To all the smokers in New Zealand: After first deciding not to fund this drug with public money in your country, on the grounds that it was not safe and there was no real evidence it worked any better (in terms of long-term outcomes, the only ones that count) than nicotine gum, Pharmac have mysteriously done an about face and “cautiously” approved it. Pharmac: That is the most inappropriate use of the word “cautiously” I have ever encountered. To approve this drug at this point in the horror story looks more like corruption than caution, so before this actually gets rolled out as a sickening reality in November, you’d better think again before this tragedy is replayed in your own land in loving, happy family homes.

Doctors: don’t prescribe it. It’s bloody dangerous, and not just to people who have had depression before, it’ll fry anyone’s brains, apparently at random. Do you want to do that to a family on your books?

Drug Approval Bodies in every country in the world: we’re watching. We’re waiting. We’re counting. Please tells us: How many victims like Brian and Patricia do you require, exactly, before you rescind the Champix Licence-To-Print-Money-And-Kill-Innocent-People?

Smokers, non-smokers – all NORMAL people: please use the internet to pass this story on. It will SAVE LIVES… and it is the only possible comfort we can offer Patricia.

In loving memory of Brian McLinden.

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Champix for New Zealand next

Calling all smokers in New Zealand, and their loved ones: this is what is heading your way in November 2010 **Update December 2010: it’s already approved, but New Zealanders need to be warned about taking Champix:

“…the crashing wave of deep and dark depression, bursting into tears for no reason at all, the feeling of no light in the world and that nobody would even care if you were gone and worst of them all the belief that that low dark feeling was something that could only be fixed by taking your own life. Ive just lived this hell after taking Champix for a mere 4 weeks, first 3 were fine but wow that 4th week and i roller-coasted from ready to punch someone in the face for talking too loudly to wanting to floor my car 200 kms into a wall. I had read online about people reactions before mine kicked in and honestly thought everyone was a nut-job bad mouthing a drug that worked as i had stopped smoking and felt great, but let me tell anyone who reads this and brushes off the more extreme sounding posts IT IS NO JOKE. I went from wanting to simply give up smoking one week to sitting in a mental health clinic 4 weeks later continually in disbelief at how the hell i managed to end up there.” (Andrew)

This is becoming a matter of urgent concern to smokers anywhere, but particularly any smokers in New Zealand, following a story in the New Zealand Herald concerning the approval of public funding for Champix despite concerns about suicides linked to the drug – a story which partially reveals the kind of dodgy deals drug companies do with governments to push them into accepting things they’re not altogether happy about. In this case Champix was sold as part of a package including a number of drugs, and the suggestion is that the NZ government could not get those drugs at that price without taking Champix as well – a sharp practice that should frankly be illegal where medications are concerned, especially a medication that has already been linked to deaths, which is exactly what the former hesitation was about. Particularly suspect is the fact that the New Zealand government drug funding body Pharmac has apparently changed its mind about Champix for no good reason at all – see extract below from NZ Herald.co.nz:

“Pharmac medical director Peter Moody said medical advisers had “cautiously endorsed” the use of Champix.

The agency is calling for public submissions on the package deal from Pfizer before the taxpayer subsidy kicks in on November 1.

“Quite often [drug] companies will offer as a package a number of medications at the same time. We will look at the total deal and look at the benefits we’re getting.”

He said package deals meant all the drugs from the company had to be taken. “You can’t cherry pick.”

A Pharmac spokesman said the price reduction on Champix had been agreed and “in return for that we get two new products and wider access to one other product”.

A spokeswoman for Pfizer said the package deal was suggested by Pharmac, rather than the other way around. The drug company had submitted four separate applications to get the drugs funded.

She said the benefits of Champix outweighed the risks. The subsidy meant “more people will be able to access Champix to improve their chances of quitting smoking”.

Pharmac had twice considered backing Champix but rejected the move because of safety concerns.

Pharmac papers stated that it “appears increasingly likely that there is an association between varenicline [Champix] and serious neuro-psychiatric events”.

It also questioned whether Champix was as successful as nicotine replacement therapies.”

Yeah – quite right too: although earlier in the piece reporter David Fisher described Champix as: “a hugely successful drug used to quit smoking” which is “estimated to be successful in up to half the cases in which people use it to try to stop smoking”, in fact it is nothing of the kind. Long term success rates are about 14% for Champix, about the same as Zyban and only a little higher than Nicotine Replacement Poisoning, which might be pretty useless but at least it doesn’t make anyone kill themselves.

Put simply, this drug should NOT be approved for public funding in New Zealand because the success rate is pure hype and there are smokers alive and well in New Zealand today who will be dead within the year if the drug is made widely available. That means husbands and wives becoming bereaved single parents, kids left without a mum or a dad – and all because of cynical drug company lies and corruption. While there’s still time, I’m going to try to draw attention to this crazy decision and hopefully the innocent smokers of New Zealand can yet be saved from having the same evil stunt pulled on them as the innocent Champix victims in the USA, the UK and Australia.

Hypnotherapy is the best method for smoking cessation: New Scientist magazine

Here’s the NZ Herald article in full

Actual failure rate for Champix here.

18.09.10: I received this message by email, here it is in full:

Andrew wrote:
“Chris, i stumbled onto your site while looking up the side effects or as the Drs
have since told me “adverse effects” of Champix, i immediatly found
solace in the fact that many people’s descriptions matched mine, the crashing
wave of deep and dark depression, bursting into tears for no reason at all, the
feeling of no light in the world and that nobody would even care if you were
gone and worst of them all the belief that that low dark feeling was something
that could only be fixed by taking your own life. Ive just lived this hell after
taking Champix for a mere 4 weeks, first 3 were fine but wow that 4th week and i
roller-coasted from ready to punch someone in the face for talking to loudly to
wanting to floor my car 200 kms into a wall. I had read online about people
reactions before mine kicked in and honestly thought everyone was a nut-job bad
mouthing a drug that worked as i had stopped smoking and felt great, but let me
tell anyone who reads this and brushes off the more extreme sounding posts IT IS
NO JOKE. I went from wanting to simply give up smoking one week to sitting in a
mental health clinic 4 weeks later continually in disbelief at how the hell i
managed to end up there.

Now that Ive had my say to people who don’t believe it happens i want to give
every person that has fallen into that deep depression and suicidal thoughts
that have searched the web for info some hope and a true light at the end of the
tunnel because it was the one thing i was searching for but did not find. The
cause of your feelings is 100% Champix related and your brain WILL experience
happiness and normal thinking again, everyone’s neurotransmitters work
differently but what Ive found is however long it actually took the Champix to
work will roughly decide how long your brain takes to return to normal. Im no Dr
by any means but i was prescribed a low dosage of Valium / diazepan to
“take the edge off” from my Dr who told me in his experience giving
anti depressants not only didn’t work with champix related depression but in
some cases made it worse. Let me tell you the Valium worked to kill the anxiety
that came from continually thinking about killing myself and within a few days
the thoughts the anger and those messed up dreams stopped. So please if your
having the side effects as extreme as some i urge you to see your Dr or if your
in Australia get a referral to the mental access team through the various
Hospitals they helped me so much and i owe them my life literally. Scarily
enough their own words to me were you aren’t the first and you definitely wont
be the last to suffer this from Champix. I implore anyone considering this drug
to really think hard as it seems the chances of you successfully quitting aren’t
far ahead of the chance you’ll be sitting in a psyche ward as i did, even as bad
as cold turkey can feel its not even 1/1000 of how bad the reaction that i
experienced is. My only wish is to spread this exact message through as many
blogs and info sites about bad reactions to Champix, Chris feel free to use my
post anywhere you like, people suffering the effects NEED to see that there is
light at the end of this black tunnel.”

There are many more disturbing accounts like this in the Champix Chantix blog section of this site, and on many other blogs on the web. My urgent advice to smokers is to read around before deciding whether to try this medication.

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Chantix Champix 7 – Unite The Blogs!

Unite The Blogs!

This is an excerpt from a former Champix user posting on the blog ‘Chantix Sucks’:

“…what are doctors doing? this is a bloody disgrace and i think before not too long there will be an uncovering of the truth of this awful drug and its potential dangers…the death toll will be rising as we speak and god only knows how many suicides and deaths there have been that havent yet been traced back to champix.
DO NOT TAKE THIS DRUG WHATSOEVER!”

http://chantixsucks.com/wordpress/ “Rob’s Experience – May 3rd 2010”

Chantix Sucks is a blog about “the dangerous side effects of Chantix”. Here’s a bit more of the same post:

“…i recall very little of this incident and any others which include nearly crashing my van twice, smashing cups, plates, bowls…my co-ordination was terrible…the scary thing was i was completely detached from what was going on…i seemed to have no feelings left for anything either…i had slipped very quickly into a depressive mode and as the days went by and my long distance relationship ended through my behaviour i slid even faster into a whirlwind depression…my dreams were absolutely nuts…i was either killing someone or being killed or committing suicide…in the mornings my first thoughts were how to kill myself and how many tablets i would need to do the job properly!
I am very normal person, pleasant, well mannered, brought up well kinda guy…i am not aggresive and live life with that extra smile…this drug in my opinion should be removed from market immediately!!!”

Now read this, which I posted on an Australian medical blog on the 22nd of August 2008:

“I’m going to make a double prediction here: the hyped “success rates” widely publicised when Champix/Chantix was launched will turn out to be very misleading, because they were based on short-term trials (just like NRT), and the horror-stories and the bodies will pile up so high in the end that no-one will be able, not even the manufacturer, to keep trying to blame the dead or continue to suggest that all the suffering is “nicotine withdrawal”. I hope all you Champix apologists will remember at that point, WE TRIED TO WARN YOU.” http://www.6minutes.com.au/commentall.asp?artid=173035

It is time for all the blogs carrying the individual horror stories to LINK UP and ALL these reports should be collated and sent to the FDA and any other official medical body in every country where Chantix Champix has been unleashed on an unsuspecting public with a clear, united demand that this evil drug must be withdrawn immediately.

No more deaths, Doc. No more damage. Chantix Champix is too unpredictable, and the lousy long-term outcome of about 14% success (see here) means it’s not worth the risk.

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Cravings Are Not Withdrawal Symptoms

by Chris Holmes

** Update 16/07.10: There is a link in the third comment at the end of this article to the website of Action on Smoking and Health (A.S.H.) which refers to a study on cravings that confirms exactly what I’m talking about here. God knows I never expected ASH to confirm or agree with anything I say, because they have staunchly defended and promoted Nicotine Replacement products until now, but maybe everyone involved in that is getting ready to admit that NRT is a complete waste of money because it’s based on a myth, just as I’ve been saying all along. Now watch them immediately start promoting some other pharmaceutical instead, instead of admitting openly how WRONG they were all this time about hypnotherapy, the Allen Carr approach, acupuncture… no, it’s chemicals, chemicals chemicals all the way!

Anyway enjoy the article!

Cravings Are Not Withdrawal Symptoms

Whether you are a smoker or not, you know what a craving is because we all get lots of cravings, they are not all about tobacco. In hypnotherapy we shut down cravings for all sorts of things routinely: smoking is just one example of that. If anyone reading this doesn’t believe that it is simply because they haven’t experienced it themselves, but it’s an everyday occurence for hypnotherapists – I’ve been doing this for the last ten years. Easily demonstrated too.

For several decades now, smokers have had it drilled into them that smoking is “nicotine addiction, nicotine addiction, nicotine addiction”. Yet for most of the time people have been smoking tobacco in Europe it has simply been regarded as a filthy habit. Odd references to “addiction” have occured down the ages but that is partly due to the unclear meaning of the term, which has often been confused with Compulsive Habit anyway. But I can easily explain why smokers’ cravings cannot possibly be withdrawal symptoms and are not related to nicotine levels in the blood anyway.

Now, don’t get me wrong: I know from my own experience as a smoker in the past that trying to quit smoking with willpower alone – or with nicotine replacement products, Zyban or Champix – CAN be a real struggle, or even seem impossible. According to the U.K. Government’s own commissioned studies into the long-term outcomes of those methods (which the National Health Service recommend) the chances are very much that your success – if any – will be temporary. What smokers don’t realise is, that is NOT because it is really hard to stop smoking, it is because those methods are all based on a myth: “addiction” to nicotine.

If cravings were withdrawal symptoms you would experience them at their worst when the nicotine level was lowest, which would be first thing in the morning if you are a typical smoker. No nicotine has been taken into the body for hours, so those “nicotine receptors” should be “going crazy” the moment you’re awake. Yet most smokers do not even keep tobacco by the bed. So there is a gap – an elapse of time – between the moment they open their eyes, and the moment when they first light up a cigarette.

Of course, there are a few smokers who light up before they get out of bed but I think everyone is aware that this is not the norm. The majority of habitual smokers will normally get up, go to the bathroom, maybe have a shower, go downstairs, put the kettle on, feed the cat… all the time feeling perfectly normal. They are not climbing the walls desperate for nicotine. But why not? They haven’t had any nicotine for hours! IF THE URGE TO SMOKE WAS REALLY A WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOM, THAT WOULD BE THEIR WORST MOMENT.

Also, many smokers feel an urge to pick up a cigarette when they have just put one out, such as when drinking, socialising or if bored. That urge is compelling, but it cannot be withdrawal because the nicotine level in the blood is still high from the previous cigarette. A “withdrawal symptom” is an experience caused by nicotine withdrawing from the system, which only happens later. Another clear indicator is the fact that the urge to smoke will vanish in particular circumstances regardless of falling nicotine levels: many smokers never smoke outside or in the street, so if they go out shopping they don’t want one. Gardening, playing sports… hours may go by, nicotine levels fall away – no symptoms, no “withdrawal”. This is because cravings are not linked to nicotine levels at all. They are compulsive urges prompting the usual habitual behaviour, but ONLY if it is a) possible, b) appropriate and c) convenient.

So if you get on a plane – as long as you’re okay with flying and don’t seriously object to the smoking restriction – you will find that nicotine levels can fall and keep on falling, and hey presto! No pesky withdrawal symptoms! Likewise if you board a bus, ride on a train, walk into Sainsburys or a cathedral, step into an operating theatre or meet the Queen… the brain knows this is NOT A SMOKING OPPORTUNITY so it doesn’t send the signals until you LEAVE that situation and a smoking opportunity presents itself.

Now, I need hardly point out that the social restrictions I’ve just described require INTELLIGENCE, SOCIAL KNOWLEDGE AND DISCERNMENT to distinguish between, and I doubt if any scientist is going to suggest that the nicotine receptors in the brain possess such complex abilities such as would be required to appreciate the shifting rules and mores of modern society. No, they were simply supposed to “go crazy” due to the falling level of nicotine specifically – NOT the fact that you’re chatting to the Queen, halfway to Cyprus or admiring a beautiful stained-glass window.

Real drug addictions are totally different. If a heroin addict gets on a plane and the level of heroin in the blood falls low THEN THEY ARE ILL, it doesn’t matter where they are or what they are doing. They couldn’t make out like they were fine even if they were talking to HRH.

Interested? Want to know more about what’s really going on with cravings? Click on the Read The Book section of the site, and when the Contents page appears, read a bit more. If you want to read all of it, click on Buy The Book. £16.95 for the paperback, or just £5 for the full download version. If you don’t like buying on-line, contact me directly for the other options.

I shut down smoking habits in a single session routinely. You can’t do that with a heroin addiction. I’ve tried. If you smoke tobacco you are NOT a drug addict, and that’s why the nicotine-based approaches rarely work except in the short-term. And that’s down to willpower mainly. The real solution is hypnotherapy, and there will come a time when that is simply common knowledge and everyone will understand that all this endless hype about “nicotine addiction” was just a simple mistake which turned into a gigantic moneyspinner for the drug companies at the taxpayers’ expense.