Sadly, it took Carter Albrecht’s death to help make it happen.
European officials first alerted the F.D.A. in 2007 to problems associated with Chantix. In September of that year, Carter Albrecht, a keyboard player from the pop-music group Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians, was killed by a neighbor who complained that Mr. Albrecht was banging on his door, ranting. Mr. Albrecht’s girlfriend blamed Chantix, which she said had made him hostile.
The widely publicized event led to a cascade of similar reports and close scrutiny by F.D.A. safety officials, who have now received 98 reports of completed suicides and 188 reports of attempted suicides among those taking Chantix.
They found similar numbers with Zyban (which, I know from experience, seriously screws with your mind).
