Scope of potential Chantix lawsuit investigations expanded
Following a report released last month by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, which outlined a number of different problems associated with Chantix, the lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. are expanding the scope of potential cases they are reviewing for users of the anti-smoking medication. Initially Chantix lawsuits were only being investigated for suicides and suicide attempts. However, based on new research that provides a compelling association with other serious and life-threatening injuries, additional cases are now being considered.
>>INFORMATION: Chantix Lawsuits
The Institute for Safe Medication Practices is a non-profit group that monitors FDA adverse event reports on a quarterly basis. During the 4th quarter of 2007, the FDA received 988 adverse event reports involving serious injuries associated with Chantix, which is more than any other medication during the time period.
This raised serious concerns, since the median average for 769 different drugs who had adverse events reported to the FDA during the quarter, was only 5 reports of serious injuries per drug. In addition, only 35 other drugs had more than 100 adverse events reported, and they included drugs like fentanyl, interferon beta, oxycodone, etanercept and other drugs intended for serious illnesses, where the benefits are weighed against known risks typically contained in “black box” warnings.
Based on the way Chantix side effects alter the function of neuroreceptors in the brain, which are responsible for performing many functions throughout the body, the adverse events reported could be caused by the drug. Potential Chantix lawsuits are now being evaluated for:
- Suicide or Suicide Attempt resulting in death or severe physical injury
- Diabetes diagnosis for the first time
- Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS) or Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis Syndrom (TENS), which are severe skin reactions caused as a medication side effect
- Accidents and Falls resulting in severe physical injury that were caused by seizures, black outs, vision disturbances or other sudden medical problems
If you, a friend or family member have suffered problems which could be associated with Chantix side effects, compensation may be available through a Chantix lawsuit. Review the legal rights which may be available by requesting a free consultation and claim evaluation.
30 Comments • Add Your Comments
Beth says:
I took Chantix in Jan 2008, In June 2008 I was DX with diabetes. I dont know what to do? I don’t like the way everyone is sueing for every thing thease days. I have also been told that class action suit’s are a big joke and no ever gets much, and it takes years? Is this true?
If it was chantix that caused me to have diabetes I dont think I would even get a dime to help pay for testing supplys, let alone if I need medical care for what can happen from Diabetes. And if anything ever came of this, It will take so long I will be dead…
Posted on October 26, 2008 at 7:22 pm
Jean says:
Our daughter took Chantix starting in Dec.2007. She died suddenly in Sept. 2008 of undetermined causes. Based on remarks ahe had made to a co-worker we believe she may have had fibrillation or palpitations a couple of times during the summer before she died. She had no signs of heart trouble before that. Her only complaint on the night she died was pain in her hip. She was alone in her apartment when she died. We hope this drug is removed from the market soon.
Posted on February 6, 2009 at 12:58 pm
thelma says:
I took Chantix for a short time, but they caused numbness in my face and I had extremely bad stomach craps, to the point, that I had to put two large pillows under my stomach to help ease the pain in bed.
Upon visiting with my Pharmasist, he advised me to get off of them immediately. I did so, and problems stopped immediately.
Posted on July 1, 2009 at 9:18 pm
Chandra says:
My husband began taking Chantix November 2008 and suffered a heart attack at the age of 41 late November 2008. My husband had no previous heart problems.
Posted on July 4, 2009 at 12:44 am
Pat says:
I started Chantix twice. Once in 2007, it made me vomit. I started again March 2009. Into the second week the violent nightmares started. I told the Dr. he said well they’re just dreams. By the end of week two I was so suicidal I didn’t want to get out of bed and thought alot about sucide. I was ashamed. I told my son and he said toss the meds. I did . After fighting off the suicide thoughts I started to feel better. This is not a good medicine in my opinion and shouldn’t be on the market.
Posted on July 16, 2009 at 5:44 pm
Cynda says:
The first week I took Chantix, there were no problems as the dosage was low. On day 8 I awoke and could barely move. My feet, ankles, knees, hips, arms all hurt, and my shoulder locked up. My arms and legs felt like they each weighed 100 lbs. I kept taking it until day 13, at which time I had had enough! I had not wanted to leave the house, due to depressive thoughts. All the mentioned side effects in the brochure were present. At the time I started taking this product I was on ZERO prescribed meds. I have reported my side effects to the FDA. At this time, approximately one month after stopping the Chantix, I am still undergoing therapy on my shoulder. The pain in my other joints is manageable, but still there. It should be taken off the market.
Posted on July 24, 2009 at 5:57 pm
PHYLLIS says:
I TOOK CHANTIX AROUND MARCH OF THIS YEAR. I TOOK 2 FULL MONTHS DOSAGE. I RECENTLY LOST THE CENTERAL VISION IN MY RIGHT EYE. I HAVE SEEN A RETINA SPECIALIST AND IT IS NOT MACULAR DEGENERATIVE DISEASE. HE SAYS IT HAS TO BE A MEDICAL CONDITION , SUCH AS ANEMIA..HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE..DIABETES..OR HIGH COLESTROL.I WAS ADVISED TO GET A FULL PHYSICAL AND BLOOD WORK AND I DID..I HAVE NONE OF THESE REALTIVE CASUES.. I HAVE BEEN READING AND HEARING ALOT ABOUT THE CHANTIX SIDE EFFECTS AND WONDER IF CHANTIX COULD BE A POSSIBLE CAUSE, AS CHANTIX WAS THE ONLY CHANGE IN MY ROUTINE THAT HAS TAKEN PLACE.
Posted on August 8, 2009 at 8:05 pm
christi says:
I took chantex in april 2008, I was laid up in bed, could not take care of my children, I got very depressed and angry. I almost lost my husband due to the effex.and then actually did loose my husband, we separated for 3 months. I was so angry and depressed I took it out on everyone. I am so ashamed of my behavior on this med. I would never recommend this medicine to anyone.
Posted on August 9, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Thomas says:
Started taking chantix on March of 2008 and had nausia to the point of barely functioning. In July of 2008 I was diagnosed with type II diabetes. In September I was let go from a job I had for 21 years. I have to think it was a direct result of my problems that started after taking Chantix for 4 months.
Posted on September 18, 2009 at 1:08 am
Jim says:
A short time after I started Chantix I found out the meaning of “vivid dreams”. It is like having Stephen King using your brain to develop a screenplay. Just horrid, the worst things you could possibly dream about there in technicolor inside your head while you are trying to sleep. I can see how it could make some people think about and act out suicide.
In my sincere attempt to quit smoking, I put up with the dreams. One night, I got up out of bead to use the bathroom and nearly toppled over to the floor, catching myself on the footboard. I stayed there for a minute trying to regain my balance and wondering if I’d had a heart attack.
Finnaly was able to go use the restroom and return to bed. In the morning when I sat up in bed to get up I just about passed out then. I’d never been so dizzy in all my life.
My Dad said it was just a part of getting older and recommended that I look at the horizon when getting up.
A couple of days later I went to an estate sale and was looking at some books on the bottom of a bookshelf. When I stood back up I felt like I was going to pass out and grabbed the side of the bookcase until my head cleared.
I googled “dizzyness” and permutations of it to see if I could come up with what was causing it and finally came accross a referrence to Chantix. I realized that was what was causing it. Still hoping to quit smoking, I kept taking it and followed dmy Dad’s advice about looking horizontally to avoud the effect.
One day I was bringing in a few household trashcans after emptying them. I bent over to set one down. I rose up and toppled over. My leg got caught in the legs of a folding chair. The chair acted like a nutcracker on my leg, fracturing the tibia and fib. The next day I was in a hospital where they put on an Illizarov external fixator (halo) on my leg to save it. I wore the halo for 8 months while my leg healed. Pins going through, screws going in, tons of pain meds, no sleep, flat on my back, pretty much cost me my marriage pain.
The risk outweighs the benefits. Find another way to quit smoking.
Posted on October 1, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Joni says:
I tried twice. First time I got sick on the second week, but that was the only effect.
More recently in May, I tried again. I took it for THREE days and that was enough. I have not smoked since.
I have had no side effects that I am aware of. It has been six months, could I still show a side effect?
Posted on November 2, 2009 at 11:28 pm
JOHN says:
I had suicidal thoughts occur due to this med, and developed into a deppression i now have tpo take meds for! I was ticketed for d.w.i. 3 times within a month. each time i woke up knowing that i never intended to live long enough to get pulled over. I had siezures due this med. also! i spoke with an attorney but have lost contact due to going into rehab for alcohol.
Posted on December 9, 2009 at 4:56 pm
Dave says:
I started taking Chantix in May of 2009. I had to stop taking this med after three weeks due to surgery I was having. Having blood test done April 17, 2009 my glucose level was 97. Having blood test done again May 28, 2009, my glucose level was 117. My glucose level today is around 116. I now have the onset of diabetes. I now have to see a nutritionist, and my diet has changed dramatically. This has changed my life. I now also have raised levels of ALT and AST test. I now take blood pressure medication. The hips like to lock up now and then, making walking difficult. I never had any of these problems before taking Chantix, and was quite fit for my age.
My only suggestion…seek an alternative solution to quit smoking.
The risks and side effects are not worth the damage that some could do to their body and mind.
Posted on January 24, 2010 at 1:40 pm
Diana says:
I took Chantix in July 09. I have been so depressed since quitting smoking. I don’t know if it is from the Chantix or the weight that I have gained. I have had mood swings and have alienated almost everyone I know in one way or another. I am about to lose my job. I do have Graves Disease which is an autoimmune disease. My endocronologist told me that quitting smoking would help my condition. But since I have quit, my condition has worsened. I only took the medicine for 2 months. I quit smoking after 1 week of taking the medicine (which is amazing). But the way that I feel now, suicidal, depressed, angry, everyone tells me I should start smoking again., I have gained 15-20 lbs and after reading about all the people being diagnosed with Diabetes after taking this drug. I am concerned about that also. I have difficulty sleeping and vivid dreams even now. I have only been married for 1.5 years but I don’t know if my husband will be able to put up with my eradic behavior much longer. Especially if I lose my job and have no income…i will then have no health insurance. Does Chantix cause permanent changes in the behavior of those that have taken it and if so – how long will those changes last.
Thank you for your time.
Posted on January 28, 2010 at 5:48 pm
Curtis says:
I srarted taking Chantix 09/09 and in 12/09 was dianosed with type2 diabetes
Posted on February 6, 2010 at 6:20 pm
Amanda says:
I quit smoking using Chantix in April 2008. While taking Chantix and since then I have had nightmares to the point where I have to take sleeping pills in order to sleep. I have also had suicidal thoughts and issues with anger and depression.
Posted on February 23, 2010 at 10:19 pm
randy says:
about a month after finishing my chantix i ended up in the hospital with a heart attack
Posted on April 8, 2010 at 8:13 pm
diane says:
My brother has attempted to take chantix to stop smoking, he too has developed Diabetes from taking the chantix, he was completely healthy before starting chantix. Now about 2 months after stopping chantix he has been Diagnosed with Blood and Lymphatic system disorders which are all listed on the little paper they send with the chantix box….Doctors are not able to give him a solid diagnoses to his problem, they are bouncing between Myelodisplastic Syndrome and Myeloperiferative disorder, which both carry the same symptoms that are listed as rare adn irregular adverse reactions on the Chantix paperwork for physicians. CHANTIX IS NOT A GOOD DRUG!!! IT CAUSES MORE HARM THAN THE CIGARETTES DO.
Posted on April 24, 2010 at 11:32 am
Christina says:
I started taking Chantix after the birth of my daughter because I wanted to have a healthy environment for the baby and my doctor said that was the best decision I could have made. So he started me off with the 1st presciption. I was nauseas for about the first 3 weeks. I was starting to have really awful dreams and couldn’t sleep very well. I thought that it may be just from having a baby. After I got the second prescription filled I was starting to have major depression and I know that was not the cause of the baby. I was having the worst dreams of my life. I started having mood swings and worsening depression. I wasn’t thinking that it was from taking the Chantix. I got the 3rd mont supply and was down to 2 cigarettes a day but I felt so horrible and didn’t want to get out of bed. All of the parts of my body and sore and I hurt severely every day. Since I quit taking the pills none of the side effects have ceased. I have chronic pain throught my entire body, started taking anti-depressents that don’t seem to be helping me and still have awful mood swings, dreams and cannot sleep. This has been a year since I have stopped this medication and wish that I would never have gotten on it. I am only 34 years old and feel like I am in a 60 year olds body.
Posted on June 28, 2010 at 5:52 pm
N. Rogers says:
I must say I have been very blessed with no real side effects from taking Chantix. The only thing I have noticed is that I am snacking more, but I think that is because I am replacing food for the cigarettes. I admit that I am a very strong Christian and prayed a great deal before asking my doctor about using this medication to stop smoking. I pray every night before I go to bed that God give me pleasant dreams and camp angels of mercy and protection around me. I truly believe that Chantix has contributed to my success! Praise God!!!
Posted on August 2, 2010 at 10:23 am
Gina says:
I started the chantix in June of 2010 I felt good about the fact that the medication was helping curb the effects from smoking. The first few weeks I felt sick to my stomach but did not have any other side effects and I was only smoking three cigarettes a day. After six weeks I tried to commit suicide, my family said that they were scared of me because of emotional outbursts that I do not remember, I became paranoid and very depressed. Today I am now taking anti-depressants to counter react and I still have periods of nervousness and afraid to be alone.
Before taking Chantix I was a very independent person and very strong willed and take charge type of person, I enjoyed life and everyone around me, my family and grandchildren were the most important aspect of my life. Today even with the anti-depressants I do not have the emotional bonding and nor the values I once cherished. My body aches all the time and I now have a lump at the crown of my head that was not there before taking chantix. It has been difficult and because of I do not have medical insurance I am now dealing with the medical expenses. I would not recommend Chantix to anyone the side effects are far worse and higher than the actual success rate to quitting smoking.
Posted on September 14, 2010 at 3:56 pm
Conniejean says:
My best friend of 45 years, started taking the Chantix a couple of years ago. Suddenly she began with side effects. Had to have a defibulator due to problems with her heart. Then came the swelling of her throat and tongue to the point now she cannot speak at all. The doctors feel it is time for a feeding tube, as she can barely swallow. Before Chantix she was in perfect health.
Posted on February 6, 2011 at 4:11 am
Michael says:
I took chantix for about 4 months,one day i fell off the back of a truck,I am now disabled for life,I have perm dameged nerves and a disease called CPRS.
I wish everyone well and hope one day we are compensated for our injuries.
Posted on April 3, 2011 at 8:46 pm
gracie says:
this is my seventh day on chantix. the morning i woke up and took my first one was the morning my grandmother tragically died. she had an accident in the house and was found in a pool of her own blood 9 hours later. hell of a day to start taking chantix.
her funeral is tomorrow.
yesterday i smoked one cigarette. i might have one today after the research i just did on chantix. i think i’m done though, especially after last night’s nightmare.
when i started taking it a week ago i started having weird dreams. the other day i took a nap and thought my father flung open the door and pointed at me and through his gritting his teeth growled “youuuu!” he later (in reality) came in and asked if i was ok. i was very sure that he did point at me and that i rolled over and went back to sleep. that never happened.
i live in louisiana. last night i had a dream that i lived in the middle of nowhere near san antonio, texas (i’ve never been there but i knew it was san antonio.) i was having very vivid sex with a very attractive man who whispered in my ear that he loved me. he went to the bathroom and i heard an intruder. i had a gun and fired it. when i went to see if the intruder was dead, it was my mother. it was very disturbing. in my dream, i crawled back in bed with the man who told me he loved me and we continued to have sex while my mother lied in a pool of blood. i started crying hysterically and we put her in a car and stared to drive to the hospital. all i could think about was how i was going to explain to my father and the law what happened. i was so riddled with guilt because i knew i would be the death of both of my parents. i was sure my father would commit suicide.
i woke up and heard my mom in the livingroom and hugged her and cried. i told her about the dream (besides the sex part) and she told me she was ok. we watched oprah after and she’s napping now.
i’m just freaked out. i think i’m totally done. that dream was horrible. i just threw away the bottle after reading these comments on this page.
i’ve also gotten hives in the past few days which i thought was mosquito bites because we live next to a bayou. it’s chantix. i’m done.
thank you. i hope this will help someone.
Posted on April 19, 2011 at 7:12 pm
Linda says:
In July 2007 I had a complete physical exam including EKG, etc. I then started taking Chantix. On my 8th day, I experienced severe palpitations at work and had an ambulance called. My heart rate was 220 and had to be restarted twice before being transported to cardiac care in the hospital. In the ER, the nurses asked if I started any new drugs and told them about the Chantix. I now have to take propafenone 2/day for atrial fibrillation, which I never had before the Chantix.
Posted on July 5, 2011 at 6:01 pm
agus says:
Suddenly she began with side effects. Had to have a defibulator due to problems with her heart. Then came the swelling of her throat and tongue to the point now she cannot speak at all. The doctors feel it is time for a feeding tube, as she can barely swallow. Before Chantix she was in perfect health.
Posted on September 6, 2011 at 11:02 pm
CK says:
I took Chantix in 2007 or 08. I dip tobacco moist snuff . I researched Chantix to see if it worked for those addicted to snuff but could not find any info regarding if it helped those who dip instead of smoking cigarettes. I sent an email to Pfizer asking if Chantix would help those who dip snuff. Pfizer provided me no helpful info & said I should ask my Doctor instead. My Doctor did not know if Chantix would help or not. I took Chantix for nearly 30 days & it did nothing to help me overcome my tobacco snuff addiction. I was doing some research recently & found out that moist snuff contains at least 15 TIMES the amount of nicotine vs the nicotine contained in cigarettes. I feel that Pfizer mislead me & should of told me Chantix would not work for those addicted to moist snuff.
Posted on November 16, 2011 at 10:12 pm
john says:
i have been taking this pill for 2 months now and have alot of the symptoms listed in many of these posts….. light headed, joint pain, stomach cramps, heart issues, not so much the dreams or thoughts of suicide… met with my doc yesterday for a follow up. he ordered blood work all was fine except my creatine kinase level was far to high….369 to be exact. my doc told me to come back in a month to be retested… hope i make it that long.
Posted on July 18, 2015 at 7:32 pm
Ken says:
I tried Chantix on 3 different occasions. Once in 2008 which made me nauseous so often that I stopped. The second time was in 2009 which gave me crazy dreams so I discontinued. The 3rd time was in 2010 which worked, no weird dreams, no nausea, no nothing. It was doing what it was intended to do and I was on my way to being a non smoker.
3 weeks into that third go around, my eyesight started to go bad, not just “I may need glasses” kind of bad but Fish bowl kind of bad. I went to see an eye doctor and she advised me to go see a Retina soecialist. Upon seeing the Specialist, I was diagnosed with Wet Macular Degeneration… at 37 years old. That is extremely rare to receive that diagnosis at 37.
I started reading about causes for “Leaky Blood Vessels” which what Wet Macular Degeneration is.
One evening, I saw a Chantix ad on TV and at the end, they mentioned a possible side effect bring… LEAKY BLOOD VESSELS.
I immediately stopped taking Chantix but the damage had already been done.
Now, thanks to Pfizer and Chantix, I spend $3,300 per eye per treatment, every 6 weeks, to have needles stuck in my eyes to prevent blindness.
If you value your eyesight, steer clear of Chantix.
Posted on May 17, 2018 at 9:24 am