Pfizer täuscht die Öffentlichkeit über Champix®-Selbstmorde
Seit Herbst 2007 ist das Pfizer-Medikament Champix® (in den USA Chantix®) zur Raucherentwöhnung wegen seiner schweren Nebenwirkungen bei gleichzeitig bescheidener Wirkung öffentlich unter Beschuss geraten. Besonders Berichte über zahlreiche Suizide und Suizidversuche unter Champix® haben die Pfizer PR-Strategen in die Defensive getrieben. Wir haben die Entwicklung hier im Blog mit einigen Artikeln
begleitet.Die Verteidigungslinie von Pfizer stand früh fest. Neben einigen
handfesten Lügen über den Verlauf der klinischen Studien behauptete Pfizer - zunächst Hand in Hand mit den zuständigen Zulassungsbehörden - Raucherentwöhnung führe generell zu einer gedrückten Stimmungslage. Ein kausaler Zusammenhang zwischen der Einnahme des Medikaments und den Suiziden sei deshalb nicht belegt. Diese Argumentation war schon dadurch unschwer zu widerlegen, dass Champix®-Anwender erst in der zweiten Woche der Einnahme mit dem Rauchen aufhören sollen, die Nebenwirkungen aber oft schon nach wenigen Tagen beobachtet wurden. Darauf wies auch die FDA hin, die im Mai 2008 eine
Verschärfung der Warnhinweise durchsetzte.Das hielt Pfizers Chief Medical Officer Dr. Joseph Feczko im Juni nicht davon ab, in einem Editorial des Wall Street Journals erneut mit Nebelkerzen zu werfen:
For example, did the person report a depressed mood because they were undergoing nicotine withdrawal? Did they smoke because they were depressed – or was their depression caused by Chantix?
In einem ausgezeichneten Artikel beleuchtet der Raucherentwöhnungsexperte John R. Polito die Schwächen dieser Argumentation. Polito betreibt das Internetportal Whyquit.com, das den "kalten" Nikotinentzug ("cold turkey") unter fachlicher Anleitung propagiert.
According to the U.S. Surgeon General, "historically, the great majority of smokers (more than 90 percent) who successfully quit smoking did so on their own." Today there are 45.7 million U.S. ex-smokers. If Pfizer and Dr. Feczko are correct and suicidal thinking and suicide are a normal part of quitting smoking, then where are the hundreds of news stories about cold turkey quitters killing themselves? You have probably never read one. Search as you might, I doubt you'll locate any.
[...]
Although Pfizer is correct in asserting that smoking is associated with suicide, it knows there is no evidence that quitting smoking without using pharmacology products is associated with suicide. What it hopes is that smokers and journalists won't recognize the difference.
Yes, millions with serious mental health issues smoke cigarettes. But how many smokers on the brink of committing suicide will endure full-blown nicotine withdrawal in hopes of extending life?
The fact that Pfizer has been unable to produce even one news account of any non-pharmacology quitter being driven to committing suicide is fully supported by medical research databases. PubMed may be the world's largest free searchable database of summaries (abstracts) of articles, studies and editorials appearing in the world's medical journals. It indexes 15,096 smoking cessation articles and 45,860 suicide articles. But a simple search of "smoking cessation" + "suicide" will not produce a single medical journal report of suicide by any non-pharmacology quitter. None. Why?
[...]
Although Pfizer is correct in asserting that smoking is associated with suicide, it knows there is no evidence that quitting smoking without using pharmacology products is associated with suicide. What it hopes is that smokers and journalists won't recognize the difference.
Yes, millions with serious mental health issues smoke cigarettes. But how many smokers on the brink of committing suicide will endure full-blown nicotine withdrawal in hopes of extending life?
The fact that Pfizer has been unable to produce even one news account of any non-pharmacology quitter being driven to committing suicide is fully supported by medical research databases. PubMed may be the world's largest free searchable database of summaries (abstracts) of articles, studies and editorials appearing in the world's medical journals. It indexes 15,096 smoking cessation articles and 45,860 suicide articles. But a simple search of "smoking cessation" + "suicide" will not produce a single medical journal report of suicide by any non-pharmacology quitter. None. Why?
Polito führt zahllose Fallberichte aus Internetforen auf und liefert auch den Ansatz einer Erklärung, warum gerade der Entzug mit Champix® (Vareniclin) so häufig mit suizidalem Verhalten verbunden ist:
Could it be that the reason there are no news stories or medical journal articles about cold turkey quitters killing themselves when quitting is that non-pharmacology quitters always have an immediate escape route, a route blocked by varenicline's nicotine blocking effects and 24 hour elimination half-life? Could it be that as varenicline's captive prisoner to escalating depression, that the minds and thinking of far too many varenicline users saw only one way to make it end?
[Champix]
| Autor: hockeystick 2008-07-03 Link (0 Kommentare) Ihr Kommentar |
