Or so it would seem. But the weekend piece in The Day, a daily newspaper that covers the region of Connecticut where Pfizer has its R&D headquarters, reads more like a canned press release from the public relations team. Some will say that’s not the issue, because it’s the message that counts.

In any event, Martin Mackay reiterates the key points the drugmaker has been attempting to drive home recently, especially after a report from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices linked the smoking-cessation pill to nearly 1,000 serious adverse events.

Beyond the info about commitment to patient safety, follow-up studies that are under way and reiterating the warnings in the Chantix label, Mackay mentions both of his parents were smokers and his mom died of lung disease. That’s interesting. But it would have been more interesting if he veered from the prepared remarks to tell us what he really thought of the ISMP report.

Hat tip to the WSJ Health blog