Pfizer Should Not Get Out Of Claims It Sold Chantix Containing Carcinogen, Plaintiff Says

Pfizer Chantix Carcinogen Class Action Lawsuit Overview: 

• Who: Juan Abreu opposes Pfizer Inc.’s motion to dismiss his class action lawsuit filed against the company.  
• Why: Abreu claims Pfizer sold the anti-smoking medication Chantix containing nitrosamine, a carcinogen, and called the company’s attempts to dismiss the claims “self-serving.”
• Where: The class action lawsuit is being litigated in Florida federal court.

Pfizer Inc. has received pushback from a consumer opposing its attempts to dismiss a class action lawsuit accusing its Chantix anti-smoking medication of containing nitrosamine, a probable human carcinogen. 

Chantix, which is meant to help people quit smoking cigarettes, has been at the center of numerous class action lawsuits accusing it of containing probable human carcinogens such as nitrosamine.

Plaintiff Juan Abreu claims Pfizer’s attempt to dismiss his class action lawsuit is “self-serving” and a “puff-piece” that uses arguments that have previously been rejected in similar litigation. 

“Simply stated, Plaintiff and other class members did not get what they paid for; Pfizer was supposed to sell uncontaminated Chantix; instead it sold Chantix contaminated with a carcinogen, and failed to employ quality steps to prevent the contamination,” the motion of opposition states. 

Plaintiff Discovered Product Contained Carcinogens From Distributor, Not Pfizer

Abreu claimed in his October class action lawsuit that he discovered Chantix contained carcinogens after he was notified by a distributor in October 2020; however, Pfizer had not initiated a voluntary recall until September. 

Pfizer has argued Abreu has not shown that the company knew Chantix contained carcinogens, that it defrauded consumers by withholding any information and that studies regarding nitrosamine show it would take extremely long odds to develop cancer from it, Law360 reports. The company also argued in its motion to dismiss that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had claimed there was no data to show the potential carcinogenic effects of nitrosamine.

Abreu, however, claims the presence of the carcinogens was “commonly known” since 2018, and the fact that Pfizer had been given notice before it chose to inform consumers makes his claims hold water. 

“Pfizer was on direct notice about the nitrosamine contamination no later than late 2020, when Health Canada found the contaminants in Chantix,” the opposition motion states. “Yet Pfizer sat idly by for months thereafter before it took any action to warn the United States public about nitrosamine contamination in Chantix.”

Class action lawsuits had previously been filed against Pfizer by consumers who claimed their loved ones died by suicide due to side effects caused by taking Chantix. 

Further back, complaints were filed against Pfizer by consumers who argued they experienced violent thoughts and other side effects after taking Chantix. 

Do you take the anti-smoking medication Chantix? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiffs are represented by Yitzhak S. Levin of Levin Litigation PLLC and Ruben Honik and David J. Stanoch of Honik LLC. 

The Pfizer Chantix Carcinogens Class Action Lawsuit is Abreu v. Pfizer, Inc., Case No. 0:21-cv-62122, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

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• Class Action Lawsuit Over ‘Strength’ of Pfizer’s Robitussin Cough Syrup to Move Forward
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