2,627 Plaintiffs Affected by Judge’s Decision in Chantix Lawsuit MDL

Chantix is designed to help smokers kick the habit by blocking pleasure receptors in the brain that responds to nicotine. Chantix was first approved in 2006 and just months after it went on the market, patients began reporting Chantix side effects such as strange behaviors, aggressiveness, and thoughts of suicide.

Shortly thereafter, patients began to file Chantix lawsuits regarding these Chantix side effects. Eventually, these Chantix lawsuits were consolidated into a multidistrict litigation (MDL) in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, where Judge Johnson is overseeing the Chantix lawsuits.

Pfizer is accused of failure to conduct sufficient research into Chantix and its potential side effects before allowing the drug to be sold to the public. Pfizer denies this claim. They claim that they have updated the label numerous times between 2006 and 2009. In July of 2009, the FDA announced that Pfizer would include a black box warning to the standard Chantix label.

Warning Label with Regards to Psychiatric Disorders is Ruled Sufficient in Chantix Lawsuit MDL

In May of 2012, a Motion of Summary Judgment was filed by Pfizer, in regards to the adequacy and legitimacy of their 2009 black box warning. They also requested that all Chantix MDF plaintiffs who used the drug for the first time following the issue of the warning be dismissed from the Chantix MDL, but only if the warning on the black box fairly and adequately warned of the potential psychiatric side effects.

Judge Johnson reached a decision via an order, which granted part of the motion, yet denied another. The judge stated in the Chantix lawsuit decision that the black box warning of 2009 was indeed adequate in warning patients of the side effect risk of psychiatric disorders in patients using Chantix. The remainder was denied, as the judge claimed by granting the request it would trample upon the rights of individuals to file a Chantix lawsuit in the event of adverse complications resulting from the use of the product.

In other words, even though the warning label did provide a fair warning of psychiatric disorders, individuals who began taking Chantix after the warning was issued have the right to file a Chantix lawsuit.

Common Chantix Side Effects

Chantix is associated with many side effects. These include the following:

* Changes in behavior
* Adverse behaviors including aggression,
* Psychological problems
* Depression
* Suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts
* Blackouts
* Heart Attacks
* Develop Stevens-Johnson Syndrome
* Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis
* Additional cardiovascular problems