Quit-smoking drug does not lead to heart disease or depression, says study

Varenicline helps smokers to quit but does not increase their risk of heart attack and depression says research published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine

Varenicline, also known as Champix or ChantixTM, is a drug to help smokers quit but previous reports have suggested that users may be more likely to suffer a heart attack when using it. 

The drug has also been linked to depression, self-harm and suicide.

This latest study in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine supports recent studies that failed to find any evidence that varenicline has a negative effect on mental health and also shows that taking the drug does not raise a person’s risk of heart disease. 

The study was led by researchers from the Universities of Edinburgh and Dusseldorf but researchers at Maastricht University, University College London and Harvard Medical School also contributed to the study

The researchers looked at anonymous health information from more than 150,000 smokers across England.

The patients had been prescribed either varenicline or another anti-smoking drug called bupropion to help them quit or had used nicotine replacement therapy – such as patches, chewing gum or lozenges.

They were tracked for six months to assess any impact of the treatment on their health. 

Researchers found that people taking either varenicline or buproprion were no more likely to suffer a heart attack than those using nicotine replacement therapy.

People were also not at higher risk of depression or self-harm, researchers say.

Professor Aziz Sheikh, co-director of the University of Edinburgh’s centre for medical informatics, said: “On the basis of our extensive analysis, we believe it is highly unlikely that varenicline has any significant adverse effects on cardiac or mental health.

“Regulators such as the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should review its safety warning in relation to varenicline as this may be unnecessarily limiting access to this effective smoking cessation aid.”