FDA to Investigate Chantix

Scott Kappes

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With people still perplexed by the actions and eventual shooting death of Carter Albrecht, the FDA has announced that it will be looking into the Albrecht case to see what role Chantix may have played in his violent behavior. Chantix is a stop smoking aid that was approved by the FDA in 2006, that many claim to be the best stop smoking aid they have ever tried.

The label released by the Food and Drug Administration, which has pledged to look into the Albrecht case, rates aggression, mood swings and abnormal thinking as "infrequent" side effects, which is a step above the "rare" ones -- an important distinction, according to Sidney M. Wolfe, director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group.

Those side effects could be exacerbated by alcohol, but an autopsy would be crucial to drawing any firm conclusions, he added

While the upside sounds really good, the downside could be very bad. I have read hundreds of post with people praising the drug, but I have also read dozens of post by people experiencing terrible side effects from Chantix, some involving suicidal and violent thoughts. Look what one woman wrote on a Chantix blog on August 12, just shy of 3 weeks before the unexplainable acts of Albrecht on Labor Day.

I was crying a lot and very snippy with my husband. He would tell me I was acting crazy and it would piss me off to the point I was thinking violent thoughts towards him and that is not me at all! I would dwell on things he and other people would say to me and have violent thoughts. I love him, I would NEVER do anything to hurt my husband. This is very scary stuff to read. Imagine living through it. I can now definitely see how someone can be temporarily insane not have control over what they do and that is very, very scary!

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