Q:When is quitting smoking a bad thing?

A: Perhaps when you quit with the help of Pfizer’s Chantix, and then settle into a depressive funk so bad, you think about killing yourself.

According to the FDA, that is exactly what is happening to some of Chantix’s customers.

On November 20th of last year, the FDA asked that physicians begin monitoring their patients who are taking the drug. The government  agency stated that it has been receiving reports from both patients and docs stating that Chantix is triggering depression, severe mood swings, abnormal dream states (first-hand reports range from dreams of kissing dinosaurs and hanging out with Wild Bill Hickock) and suicidal thoughts.

Strange, yes. But even stranger is the event that may have triggered the FDA’s investigation. 

Carter Albrecht, who played keyboards for singer Edie Brickell, was taking Chantix earlier this month when, possibly in the grip of bizarre dreams, he began banging on the door of his neighbor’s house, yelling and ranting. The neighbor shot him dead

Agency officials explain that they had been looking into reports regarding Chantix when they learned of Carter Albrecht’s story.

—Source: Wall Street Journal