Having practiced in the drug liability area for more than two decades and seeing what kind of information has not been disclosed by big phrama my continued advice to all friends and family  is that before you take any drug ask your doctor ” Please explain the reported side effects.” While you may not get the benefi of the suppressed information, at least you will have a fighting chance.

Below is the report of just another instance where lack of full disclosure has been bad for US consumers.

Bloomberg News (10/19, Fisk, Feeley, 1M) reports that “Pfizer Inc. (PFE) reached a confidential settlement with the widow of a Minnesota man who killed himself after taking its anti-smoking drug Chantix [varenicline], averting a trial set to begin next week.” According to the article, “the widow of Mark Alan Whitely sued Pfizer after his death in November 2007, alleging the company failed to sufficiently warn that Chantix could increase the risk of suicide.” Citing court records, Bloomberg News notes that the lawsuit was the first among more than 2,500 cases involving Chantix that are pending in Federal court in Alabama. The report mentions that “the lawsuits claim that Chantix causes depression and other psychiatric disorders, some so severe that patients attempt or commit suicide.”

        Lawsuit set to be the first Chantix test case. Alabama Live (10/19, Faulk) reports that Billy G. Bedsole Jr, a 53-year old who began taking Chantix in 2007 to help break his habit, claims in a lawsuit that the medication caused “insomnia, severe anxiety, severe depression, erratic behavior, suicidal ideation, and hospitalization.” This week, “the Bedsole lawsuit became the lead bellwether, or test case,” among the 2,635 Federal lawsuits filed nationwide. The trial is scheduled to begin January 22