http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/category/vaccines.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/story/2012/02/09/montreal-champix-ads.html http://tobacco.org/news/333546.html Ads that subtly promote the smoking cessation drug Champix are popping up in downtown Montreal, but the campaign is raising concerns after a recent study linked the drug to heart problems. The drug, manufactured by Pfizer, is the subject of three Health Canada safety advisories. The warnings involve reports of possible adverse reactions including depression, hostility, and increased risk of suicide. . . . The ads in question feature the words “I did it!” on a green background with the drug’s website tagged underneath. In Canada, as long as an ad doesn’t specify the disease or condition a drug is supposed to treat, it’s legal, even if the drug has been flagged for review by Health Canada. In the U.S., stricter advertising standards prohibit Pfizer from using the same marketing for the drug. Complies with regulations In an emailed statement, Pfizer said the ads comply with all federal regulations. "The campaign was also reviewed and approved by Advertising Standards Canada (ASC) as part of their pre-clearance service," the statement reads. CBC News Canada Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.tobaccoinduceddiseases.com/content/10/1/1 http://tobacco.org/news/333074.html Background Greece has the highest proportion of smokers in the European Union with 42% of Greeks admitting that they smoke, based on a 2009 survey. This post-hoc analysis of a prospective, observational study evaluated the effectiveness and safety profile of the smoking cessation aid varenicline, as well as potential predictors of quit success in a Greek population. . . . Conclusions In this 'real-world' observational study, 70.4% of Greek smokers successfully quit smoking after 12 weeks of varenicline therapy, providing support that varenicline is an effective smoking cessation medication. Further studies with longer follow-up are warranted. Tobacco Induced Diseases Greece Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/media/advisories-avis/_2012/2012_07-eng.php http://tobacco.org/news/332369.html Health Canada is informing Canadians that our review of Champix is now complete and the label has been updated with new information with respect to cardiovascular safety. Champix (the brand name for varenicline tartrate) is a prescription drug used to help patients quit smoking in combination with supportive counselling. Health Canada evaluated data from a quit-smoking clinical trial involving 700 smokers with cardiovascular disease (approximately 350 who received Champix and 350 who received a placebo or "sugar pills"). Cardiovascular disease is a broad term for any condition that affects the heart and/or blood vessels, including heart attack and stroke. Although a slightly increased number of patients experienced serious heart-related events in the group treated with Champix compared to the group treated with placebo, the study was not adequately designed to be able to test the cardiovascular safety of Champix. Health Canada Canada Thu, 19 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031811-124624 http://tobacco.org/news/332246.html In the past 20 years, public health initiatives on smoking cessation have increased substantially. Randomized trials indicate that pharmaceutical cessation aids can increase success by 50% among heavier smokers who seek help, and use of these aids has increased markedly. Quitlines provide a portal through which smokers can seek assistance to quit and are promoted by tobacco control programs. Randomized trials have demonstrated that telephone coaching following a quitline call can also increase quitting, and a combination of quitlines, pharmaceutical aids and physician monitoring can help heavier smokers to quit. While quit attempts have increased, widespread dissemination of these aids has not improved population success rates. Pharmaceutical marketing strategies may have reduced expectations of the difficulty of quitting, reducing success per attempt. Some policies actively discourage unassisted smoking cessation despite the documented high success rates of this approach. There is an urgent need to revisit public policy on smoking cessation. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Public Health Volume 33 is March 17, 2012. Annual Review of Public Health jppierce@ucsd.edu (AUTHORS) Tue, 03 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/early/2012/01/13/tobaccocontrol-2011-050124.abstract?papetoc http://tobacco.org/news/332038.html Aims To use association rule mining methods to investigate prescribing of smoking cessation medication in the UK primary care and to identify the characteristics of numerically important groups of patients who typically do, or do not, receive cessation therapy. . . . Results Of the current smokers, 37 731 (13.4%) were given prescriptions for smoking cessation treatment during 2008. Prescriptions were particularly likely to be given to women, those aged 31–60 years, and people with diagnoses of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and depression. On the contrary, of patients with dementia, with alcohol intake over recommended levels, atrial fibrillation or chronic kidney disease was extremely unlikely to be prescribed a smoking cessation medication. However, the largest group of patients who did not receive therapy was young and otherwise healthy individuals. Conclusions This novel approach identified sizeable and easily definable groups of patients who are systematically failing to receive support for smoking cessation in primary care. Association rule mining can be used to identify key numerically important groups at high or low risk of receiving treatment and hence potentially to improve healthcare delivery. Tobacco Control Fri, 13 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.cmaj.ca/content/183/12/1359 http://tobacco.org/news/331938.html Results: We analyzed data from 14 double-blind randomized controlled trials involving 8216 participants. The trials ranged in duration from 7 to 52 weeks. Varenicline was associated with a significantly increased risk of serious adverse cardiovascular events compared with placebo (1.06% [52/4908] in varenicline group v. 0.82% [27/3308] in placebo group; Peto odds ratio [OR] 1.72, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.09â��2.71; I2 = 0%). The results of various sensitivity analyses were consistent with those of the main analysis, and a funnel plot showed no publication bias. There were too few deaths to allow meaningful comparisons of mortality. Interpretation: Our meta-analysis raises safety concerns about the potential for an increased risk of serious adverse cardiovascular events associated with the use of varenicline among tobacco users. Canadian Medical Association Journal Mon, 04 Jul 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.cmaj.ca/site/earlyreleases/11jan12_pfizer-advertises-smoking-cessation-drug-despite-health-warnings.xhtml http://tobacco.org/news/331893.html Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Canada is using a national advertising campaign to persuade Canadians who want to quit smoking to use its smoking cessation drug varenicline (Champix), despite a recent study linking it to serious cardiovascular events. The firm is precluded from doing so in the United States, which has tougher advertising standards than Canada, and some experts argue that the Canadian campaign should be halted by either the government or the firm itself. Doing so, they say, would be in accord with principles that the firm’s US parent must abide by as a result of regulations that prohibit manufacturers from using “reminder ads” to advertise drugs that carry black box warnings. Pfizer Canada rolled out its varenicline campaign, “in a punctual way,” in January 2011. The campaign, which includes billboards, print and digital advertising, is intended “to encourage an open dialogue between a patient and his/her physician,” says Andrea Gilpin, a spokesperson for Pfizer Canada. It features “reminder ads,” a type of direct-to-consumer advertisement that assumes people are already familiar with the condition for which varenicline is prescribed. They do not describe how well the drug works or its potential risks. Canadian Medical Association Journal Canada Wed, 11 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/08/snl-chantix-parody-side-effects_n_1192612.html http://tobacco.org/news/331884.html Once again, "SNL" turned in a winning commercial parody on Saturday, this time taking on the over ripe target of pharmaceutical side effects. Giving up smoking is a healthy choice for you and your loved ones, but be careful which method you choose to help you quit. You could be unknowingly endangering the lives of those closest to you. Huffington Post comedytips@huffingtonpost.com Sun, 08 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.nature.com/clpt/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/clpt2011317a.html http://tobacco.org/news/331867.html Abstract Preclinical research and learning theory suggest that a longer duration of varenicline treatment prior to the target quit date (TQD) would reduce smoking rates before cessation and improve abstinence outcomes. A double-blind randomized controlled trial tested this hypothesis in 60 smokers randomized to either an Extended run-in group (4 weeks of pre-TQD varenicline) or a Standard run-in group (3 weeks of placebo, 1 week of pre-TQD varenicline); all the participants received 11 weeks of post-TQD varenicline and brief counseling. During the pre-quit run-in, the reduction in smoking rates was greater in the Extended run-in group than in the Standard run-in group (42% vs. 24%, P P = 0.001). The rate of continuous abstinence during the final 4 weeks of treatment was higher among women in the Extended group compared to women in the Standard run-in group (67% vs. 35%). Although these data suggest that extension of varenicline treatment reduces smoking during the pre-quit period and may further enhance cessation rates, confirmatory evidence is needed from phase III clinical trials. Nature lhawk@buffalo.edu (Subject Area) Wed, 30 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240020.php http://tobacco.org/news/331866.html Smokers planning to kick the habit may have more success if they begin using a cessation medication several weeks before they actually try to quit. Those are the results of a clinical trial conducted by researchers at the University at Buffalo Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) and other institutions published recently in Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. The study focused on 35 women and 25 men, all smokers from Western New York who were on average 48 years old and smoked a pack of cigarettes per day. Participants who were randomized to take the smoking cessation medication varenicline (marketed as Chantix) for four weeks prior to trying to quit smoking were more likely to successfully quit smoking than those who took varenicline for just one week before quitting, which is the current standard therapy for the drug. Everyone took the medication for an additional 11 weeks after the quit day. "Varenicline was designed to make smoking less rewarding, and our data suggests that it does that better when people take it for a few extra weeks before quitting," says Larry W. Hawk, Jr., PhD, lead author and associate professor of psychology in the UB College of Arts and Sciences "If this finding holds up in larger studies, it could have a major impact on public health." "We saw nearly full compliance, which suggests that this is not only a well-tolerated therapy, but one people can realistically stick with," Medical News TODAY Mon, 09 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haAvsmHbQz0 http://tobacco.org/news/331700.html You Tube Sun, 08 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.buffalo.edu/news/13103 http://tobacco.org/news/331535.html Summary: -- In this small clinical trial, 53 percent of participants who used varenicline (Chantix) for four weeks before trying to quit were still tobacco-free three months later versus 40 percent of those who took varenicline as usually prescribed, for just one week before quitting. -- Among women, 67 percent of those who received the extra varenicline before quitting were still smoke-free at follow-up. -- As predicted, the extra weeks of medication allowed participants to reduce their smoking without increases in craving or withdrawal. University of Buffalo goldbaum@buffalo.edu Thu, 05 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.physorg.com/news244983534.html http://tobacco.org/news/331534.html Smokers planning to kick the habit may have more success if they begin using a cessation medication several weeks before they actually try to quit. Those are the results of a clinical trial conducted by researchers at the University at Buffalo Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) and other institutions published recently in Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. The study focused on 35 women and 25 men, all smokers from Western New York who were on average 48 years old and smoked a pack of cigarettes per day. Participants who were randomized to take the smoking cessation medication varenicline (marketed as Chantix) for four weeks prior to trying to quit smoking were more likely to successfully quit smoking than those who took varenicline for just one week before quitting, which is the current standard therapy for the drug. Everyone took the medication for an additional 11 weeks after the quit day. "Varenicline was designed to make smoking less rewarding, and our data suggests that it does that better when people take it for a few extra weeks before quitting," says Larry W. Hawk Jr., PhD, lead author and associate professor of psychology in the UB College of Arts and Sciences "If this finding holds up in larger studies, it could have a major impact on public health." "We saw nearly full compliance, which suggests that this is not only a well-tolerated therapy, but one people can realistically stick with," says co-author Martin C. Mahoney, MD, PhD, associate professor of oncology in RPCI's Departments of Medicine and Health Behavior and clinical associate professor in UB's School of Public Health and Health Professions and School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Medical Xpress Thu, 05 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.fairwarning.org/2010/12/chantix/ http://tobacco.org/news/331510.html It wasn’t until three years later, after thousands of reports of serious side effects, that the FDA told Pfizer to conduct trials including people with a history of mental illness. The agency then also slapped a so-called black box warning, the FDA’s strongest alert, on the medication. The controversy over Chantix’s side effects, particularly for smokers with mental health issues, has triggered a torrent of lawsuits. About 1,000 such cases have been filed in federal court, and plaintiffs lawyers say they anticipate bringing forward more than 1,000 additional suits. There also are scattered cases in state courts in New York, Illinois and elsewhere. Plaintiffs in more than half of the cases claim the drug led to suicides or suicide attempts, and many say they suffered psychosis, blackouts, aggression, diabetes or other problems. No cases have yet been tried or settled. The plaintiffs lawyers argue that Pfizer, the world’s largest pharmaceutical company with sales this year of more than $60 billion, neglected to test Chantix adequately before its release, deliberately hid evidence of serious side effects and failed to sufficiently warn consumers about its risks. Pfizer has turned over to plaintiffs lawyers more than six million pages of documents under a protective order that bars their public release. Pfizer, for its part, defends Chantix and says it “acted responsibly and appropriately at all times in connection with the development, approval, and marketing” of the drug. The FDA, likewise, says it acted properly in approving the drug, despite the problems that emerged after it went on the market. “The agency does not feel any mistakes were made,” said FDA spokeswoman Sandy Walsh.“We can never speculate as to what may happen with a drug once it goes into widespread use after approval.” FairWarning Thu, 15 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2011/12/28/Stop-smoking-drug-in-more-addiction-trials/UPI-40461325099374/ http://tobacco.org/news/331162.html The quit-smoking pill Chantix, linked to psychiatric problems in some people taking it, is being tested on addicts and other high-risk patients, experts said. Soon after its introduction in 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration began receiving reports of severe psychiatric disturbances in people taking Chantix, with more cases of violence and reports of suicide, self-injury and depression than any other smoking-cessation therapy. Despite this, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and other medical centers are now testing it in alcohol, cocaine and methamphetamine addicts who may be especially vulnerable to such problems, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Wednesday. UPI Wed, 28 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT