Maryland Lawsuit Alleges Chantix Suicide Ideation

On January 5, 2012, Virginia resident Jonathan Wince filed a Chantix lawsuit in a Maryland circuit court. Through his Chantix Lawyer, Wince alleges that he experienced severe Chantix side effects, including suicidal thoughts.

Echoing allegations of other plaintiffs across the country, Wince charges Pfizer, the manufacturer of smoking cessation drug Chantix, with intentionally excluding certain populations from their clinical trials, and alleges that the pharmaceutical company knew or should have known the serious risks of Chantix side effects. The plaintiff, represented by his Chantix lawyer, also claims that Pfizer failed to adequately warn consumers of these risks.

Chantix lawyer: quit-smoking drug can provoke Chantix suicide

According to his Chantix lawsuit, Wince alleges that he began taking the drug on January 3, 2009; his doctor prescribed the medication to help the plaintiff quit smoking.

Shortly after beginning his Chantix regimen, Wince claims that he began experiencing Chantix side effects such as memory loss, aggression, anxiety, depression, thoughts of Chantix suicide, intestinal bleeding, severe emotional distress, lethargy, hallucinations, physical pain, panic attack, and manic behavior.

These symptoms resulted in mounting medical bills, lost wages, and other damages that his Chantix lawyer intends to address during trial. For his alleged Chantix side effects, Wince is asking the court for $5 million in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages.

Chantix lawyer: Pfizer ignored key populations in Chantix side effects studies

Among the allegations, Wince’s Chantix lawyer claims that Pfizer failed to properly study their smoking cessation drug, and therefore could not adequately assess the risk of serious side effects, such as Chantix suicide. For example, certain key populations, such as those with mental illness, were excluded from the trials, even though these populations would likely be using the anti-smoking drug.

Chantix lawsuit alleges Pfizer was aware of risks

Wince’s Chantix lawyer alleges that the defendant, Pfizer, was aware of the risk of serious injuries associated with the drug. The case lists the results of several studies as evidence; these showed that Chantix patients displayed a relative risk of psychiatric disorders, including a three-times greater risk of suicidal thoughts over those study participants taking a placebo.

Wince’s lawsuit also claims that the Chantix warning label and package insert failed to explicitly warn consumers and medical professionals of the increased risk of serious injury and/or death from Chantix suicide, or state the frequency and severity of these Chantix side effects.

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