The lives of pilots and air traffic controllers trying to quit smoking has gone from bad to worse. Not only are they jonesing for a cigarette, the Federal Aviation Administration says they can't take a popular drug that could help them kick the habit.
The agency has barred flight personnel from using Chantix after a study by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices found the drug can cause anger, aggression, agitation and in some cases, suicidal behavior. Those aren't exactly qualities you look for in the people responsible for flight safety. Pfizer, which makes Chantix, says the side effects are rare, but the FAA doesn't care.
"We're going to err on the side of safety," says agency spokesman Les Dorr. The FAA may reconsider its decision if further studies show the drug won't make people lose it, but until then, no dice.
Air traffic regulators aren't the only ones taking a close look at Chantix.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which regulates the trucking and bus industries, have said anyone taking Chantix shouldn't be allowed to drive. The Department of Transportation has alerted the heads of its myriad sub-agencies to the Chantix study and told them to take note of its findings and recommendations.
The study found 988 cases of Chantix causing serious health problems, including seizures and heart trouble, in the last quarter of 2007 alone. It also found possible links to seizures, dizziness, heart irregularity, diabetes and more than 100 accidents.
Despite racking up $277 million in sales last year, Chantix hasn't offered the smoothest sailing for Pfizer, which has plenty of other problems to contend with. The drug has long been associated with potential psychotic problems, as well as other symptoms including constipation, poor appetite, metabolism, gastrointestinal disorders, cardiac and lymphatic disorders, and ear, nose and throat disorders.
The FAA approved the drug last summer before safety regulators started looking into reports of psychiatric problems that included suicidal behavior, radical mood changes and vivid nighttime episodes that some call "Chantix dreams."
Pfizer says the problems cited in the report are "infrequent" or "rare," and notes the warning label on the drug plainly states the risks. It also notes that there re 5 million Americans taking the drug right now, and smoking is "one of the largest problems we face in the world."
"When you think about it in that perspective, the risk-benefit analysis is still substantially toward benefit," Dr.
Anjan Chatterjee, a Pfizer medical director, told the Los Angeles Times. "Even medications most people consider innocuous have side effects."
It's a valid point, unless the guy flying your plane - or the driver of the big-rig behind you - becomes one of the "rare" cases where Chantrix causes hallucinations, paranoia, aggression, or homicidal thoughts.
Photo by 20th Century Fox.* *
