An article in this week's issue of the Journal of the American Medical
Association (JAMA) reports that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
has now acknowledged receiving 98 reports of suicides and 188 reports
of suicide attempts that appear to be linked to use of Chantix, a
prescription medication for smoking cessation. In addition, the FDA has
received reports of patients taking the drug being involved in motor
vehicle crashes.
At the same time, the FDA which has approved Chantix, seems focused on keeping electronic cigarettes, which have yet to be proven harmful, from the public. A growing number of tobacco control and medical professionals are questioning the motives of the FDA. Medical expert Dr. Michael Siegel, associate chairman and a professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the Boston University School of Public Health, wonders why the FDA is threatening to take electronic cigarettes off the market.
“If Chantix has been studied and has been found to have likely caused 98 deaths and an additional 188 attempted suicides and it is allowed to remain on the market because smoking cessation is such an important goal, then what is the point of removing e-cigarettes from the market while studying its potential adverse effects? Suppose e-cigarettes were to be found to have caused 100 deaths. Would that warrant taking it off the market, since it - like Chantix - is helping people to quit smoking?” Dr. Siegel asks in a statement released by the Center for Public Accountability in Tobacco Control.
Excerpted from emailwire.com.
At the same time, the FDA which has approved Chantix, seems focused on keeping electronic cigarettes, which have yet to be proven harmful, from the public. A growing number of tobacco control and medical professionals are questioning the motives of the FDA. Medical expert Dr. Michael Siegel, associate chairman and a professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the Boston University School of Public Health, wonders why the FDA is threatening to take electronic cigarettes off the market.
“If Chantix has been studied and has been found to have likely caused 98 deaths and an additional 188 attempted suicides and it is allowed to remain on the market because smoking cessation is such an important goal, then what is the point of removing e-cigarettes from the market while studying its potential adverse effects? Suppose e-cigarettes were to be found to have caused 100 deaths. Would that warrant taking it off the market, since it - like Chantix - is helping people to quit smoking?” Dr. Siegel asks in a statement released by the Center for Public Accountability in Tobacco Control.
Excerpted from emailwire.com.
