Two popular anti-smoking drugs — Chantix and Zyban — will now carry warnings about the risk of mental-health related personal injuries after causing changes in users’ behavior.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Chantix and Zyban will carry the warnings to alert consumers to the risks of depression and suicidal thoughts when using the drugs.

Our firm’s personal injury lawyers in San Diego believe that if you use a product to cure a personal injury then it also has the possibility to turn into another more severe personal injury.  We often see products liability cases when companies fail to manufacture products that are safe to use by consumers, which cause injuries such as spinal cord injuries, physical disabilities and even wrongful death.

The anti-smoking drugs also have been reported to cause changes in behavior, hostility and agitation in users, whether users had a history of psychiatric illness or not.  In many cases, side effects started shortly after use began and ended when the medication was stopped.  The FDA does not know what is causing the changes and said people taking these products should be monitored by their doctor to aviod severe personal injuries.

The FDA says that since Chantix was approved in 2006, the agency has had reports of 98 suicides and 188 attempted suicides.  Zyban has had reports of 14 suicides and 17 attempts.

When a manufacturer fails to place warnings on products of known dangers or side effects, they open themselves up to product liability lawsuits and claims.  The San Diego personal injury lawyers at our firm believe it is a company’s responsibility to make sure that products are made available to consumers that do not risk a person’s health as a result of a design defect.

Please feel free to call us now at 1-858-551-2090 or click here for a FREE CONSULTATION with an experienced personal injury attorney.  We have a large bilingual staff that can assist you in either English or Spanish.