British Issue New Zyban Warning
June 4, 2001
Last week, Britain's Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) announced that tougher warnings and prescription standards were needed to protect the health of those taking the popular anti-smoking drug Zyban. CSM said that additional Zyban warnings were needed in order to better educate both doctors and patients regarding Zyban's tendency to cause seizures in some people.
Aside from the new warning label, British officials also suggested that Zyban doses should not be increased until the seventh day the patient takes the medication. Currently, the dose is increased on the fourth day of Zyban treatment. Health experts believe that it may be important to allow an additional three days to pass before increasing a patient's dose. Such delay may allow the body more time to adjust to Zyban and thus reduce the occurrence of seizures.
According to the chairman of the British drug regulatory agency, "The Committee on Safety of Medicines and the Medicines Control Agency, in conjunction with other European regulatory authorities, are taking this action today and will be keeping the safety of Zyban under close, constant scrutiny." Nevertheless, the various safety agencies insist that Zyban remains safe and effective. Despite the vote of confidence, over 5,000 reports of "adverse events" associated with Zyban have been reported since the drug's introduction.
Aside from the seizure danger, experts also caution against taking Zyban with certain other medications. Zyban may be particularly dangerous to those people suffering from diabetes or head injury.
-- Article Courtesy of InjuryBoard.com
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