Anti-Smoking Drug 'Does Not Increase Heart Attack Risk'
A drug designed to help smokers quit does not increase the risk of heart attack and depression as was previously thought, a study has found.
Previous reports on varenicline, or Champix, suggested that users were vulnerable to a range of side effects but scientists failed to find any evidence to support the claims in a study of 150,000 smokers.
Millions of people in the UK and US were prescribed the drug in 2011 but fears were raised after patients reported depression, suicidal thoughts and anxiety.
A team of researchers from the Universities of Edinburgh and Dusseldorf looked at anonymised health information from more than 150,000 smokers who 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 or gum.
They were tracked for six months to assess any impact of the treatment on their health.
The scientists found that people taking either varenicline or buproprion were no more likely to suffer a heart attack than those using nicotine replacement therapy.
Patients were also not at higher risk of depression or self-harm, researchers say.
Researchers at Maastricht University, University College London and Harvard Medical School also contributed to the study published in The Lancet RespiratoryMedicine.
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 should review its safety warning in relation to varenicline as this may be unnecessarily limiting access to this effective smoking cessation aid.''
Professor Daniel Kotz, from the Medical Faculty of the Heinrich-Heine-University Dusseldorf, said: "Smokers typically lose three months of life expectancy for every year of continued smoking.
"Our research supports the use of varenicline as an effective and safe tool to help people quit.''