Anti-Smoking Medications Appear Not To Raise The Risk Of Serious Mental Health Disorders

The AP (4/23, Johnson) reported, “Seven years after US regulators slapped their strictest warning on two popular smoking-cessation medicines citing risks of suicidal behavior, a large international study found no such risk.”

According to HealthDay (4/23, Preidt), a new, FDA-requested, 8,000-participant study published online April 22 in The Lancet on Friday suggests anti-smoking medications Chantix (varenicline) and Wellbutrin (bupropion) “don’t appear to raise the risk of serious mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts.” An accompanying editorial observed the study shows “neuropsychiatric adverse events occurring during smoking cessation are independent of the medication used.

Heavy Marijuana Use In Late Adolescence May Put Men At Higher Risk For Death By Age 60, Study Finds.
The CBS News (4/22, Marcus) website reported, “Heavy marijuana use in the late teen years puts men at a higher risk for death by age 60,” the findings of a study published online April 22 in the American Journal of Psychiatry suggest. Researchers arrived at that conclusion after analyzing “the records of more than 45,000 men beginning in 1969 and 1970.” Kevin Hill, MD, MHS, “a member of the American Psychiatric Association’s Council on Addiction Psychiatry, told CBS News, ‘One of the key messages from a study like this comes down to two words: dose matters.’” Included in the study were adolescents “who had used marijuana more than 50 times.”

HealthDay (4/22, Preidt) reported that men “who were heavy marijuana users in their late teens were 40 percent more likely to die by age 60 than those who never used the drug, the investigators found.”

Related Links:

— “STUDY: NO SUICIDE RISK FOR ANTI-SMOKING PILLS CHANTIX, ZYBAN,” Linda A. Johnson, Associated Press, April 23, 2016.

Posted in In The News.