Some of the biggest money paid to UW has been for its smoking cessation course, part of a national campaign funded by Pfizer.
Of the $12.3 million paid by the drug company to fund the course, $3.5 million is going to UW.
The course materials heavily promote Pfizer’s drug, Chantix, considered to be the most effective drug on the market. But the drug is under investigation by the FDA, and in its relatively short history on the market, it has been linked to serious side effects, none of which is mentioned in the course.
Side effects include depression, agitation, suicidal behavior and blackouts. For two consecutive quarters, Chantix was connected with more serious injuries than any other prescription drug, according to an October report by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices. Since its approval in 2006, the drug has been linked to 3,325 serious injuries and 112 deaths in the U.S.
Last May, the FAA ordered pilots and air traffic controllers to immediately stop taking the drug because of safety concerns.
Course materials also fail to mention that large numbers of people were excluded from the clinical trials that led to the drug’s approval, raising questions about its real world effectiveness.
For instance, a 2006 study headed by UW researcher Douglas Jorenby and funded by Pfizer found that 23% of Chantix users had abstained from smoking for one year, compared with 15% who got the drug bupropion and 10% who got a placebo.
But the study excluded a wide-range of subjects, including people with heart disease, mental illness, allergies and other conditions.
UW’s Mejicano said he did not think the side effects or the people excluded from the clinical trials should have been included in the course. He said such courses are rarely comprehensive and are designed to meet selected learning objectives.
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Tobacco is an annual or bi-annual growing 1-3 meters tall with large sticky leaves that contain nicotine. Native to the Americas, tobacco has a long history of use as a shamanic inebriant and stimulant. It is extremely popular and well-known for its addictive potential.
Nicotiana rustica leaves.
Nicotiana rustica leaves have a nicotine content as high as 9%, whereas Nicotiana tabacum (common tobacco) leaves contain about 1 to 3%
A cigar is a tightly rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco which is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Sumatra, Philippines, and the Eastern United States.
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the fresh leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as an organic pesticide, and in the form of nicotine tartrate it is used in some medicines. In consumption it may be in the form of cigarettes smoking, snuffing, chewing, dipping tobacco, or snus.
