The new guidelines from the US Public Health Service arrive only a few months after the Chantix label was updated to reflect warnings about suicidal thoughts and behavior. Althlough the guidelines mention the psychiatric risks, they also say the Pfizer drug is the most effective at helping people get off cigarettes, the Associated Press writes.
The [...]

The new campaign appears to replace the “My Time To Quit” ads that ran after links to suicide were reported earlier this year. A Pfizer spokesman tells us the drugmaker is “exploring” advertising Chantix again in various print and TV outlets after holding talks with the FDA, and claims the ads are being revived because [...]

Welcome to the working week. We hope you enjoyed the break. And now, it’s back to business. Meetings and deadlines loom. After all, there is always something that needs to be done. To help you cope, we have gathered a few items that should help you catch up and prepare. So grab a cup of [...]

For all the puzzling or disturbing stories about the Pfizer smoking-cessation drug, the details have usually been restricted to dry recitation of scientific data and specific, but brief descriptions of strange side effects, predominantly hallucination. However, Derek De Koff, a contributor to New York magazine, writes a lengthy first-person account of what it was like [...]

Who doesn’t like a list? This one shows the ranking of branded drug sites that drove consumer requests for prescriptions and is based on a survey of 5,112 adults in the US, according to Manhattan Research. Most likely, you won’t find it surprising that the sites are for meds that treat such afflictions as impotence, [...]

Over the past few years, the FDA has sometimes issued important news - including health advisories - on Friday afternoons. Why does this matter? For one, releasing anything late in the day means the news is more likely to get lost as the media face looming deadlines. This may matter less as more people get [...]

The FDA has announced a public health advisory about abnormal behavior, agitation, depressed mood, suicidal ideation, and actual suicidal behavior with Pfizer’s anti-smoking drug. And has provided updated numbers - 491 cases of suicidal thinking or behavior, including 420 in the US. And of those, there were 39 suicides, including 34 in the US.
“We’ve [...]

After a spell of rain here in the nation’s medicine chest, we look forward to clearer skies, which should hopefully provide more clarity on world events, as well. We hope the weather where you are is nice. Here are a few items to help you enjoy the view…
Merck, Newron Drug Failed To Help Parkinson’s Patients [...]

The newest prescription data shows Pfizer’s smoking-cessation treatment gaining traction. New scrips written for the week ending Feb. 23 rose 10.7 percent and total scrips gained 10.9 percent, according to a research note issued today by industry analyst David Risinger at Merrill Lynch, who cites IMS Health.
Among cholesterol pills, new scrips written for AstraZeneca’s Crestor [...]