Varenicline May Not Increase Risk Of Heart Attack Or Depression, Study Suggests

By Dr Deepu

Reuters (9/8, Kelland) reports that a 150,000-participant study published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine found that the smoking cessation medication Chantix (varenicline) does not raise the risk of heart attack or depression, despite prior reports to the contrary.

Chantix reduces both the craving for and pleasurable effects of cigarettes and is used by heavy smokers who find it difficult to quit. It is one of the biggest-selling stop-smoking drugs in the United States and Britain, and generated $647 million in revenue in 2014.

The latest research, published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal, studied patients who had been prescribed either varenicline or Zyban, an anti-smoking drug from GlaxoSmithKline known generically as bupropion, to help them quit, or had used nicotine therapies such as patches, gum or lozenges.