Updates

14th March, 2007
Smokers who live in Bury, Greater Manchester (UK) are to be prescribed Champix on the NHS, even though it is more expensive than the other current treatments. The Department of Health are under no obligation to prescribe Champix as it has yet to be approved as cost effective by NICE. However, Bury Primary Care Trust managers are offering Champix routinely as a smoker is 4 times more likely to quit when taking Champix, than by using willpower alone. Bury is thought to be the only trust in England that is currently offering Champix on the NHS.

Champix is likely to be approved by NICE during the summer of 2007 – probably to coincide with the UK smoking ban on July 1st. It was approved for use in Scotland in January 2007.

26th January, 2007
There has been a bit of an ethical debate in Canada this week concerning Champix. A news release has been distributed by Pfizer quoting Dr Andrew Pipe, who has stated that the new drug will help many people to quit smoking. Indeed, Champix was approved for sale in Canada this week.

However, Dr Pipe was the doctor involved in the clinical trials of Champix, and this is not made clear in the press release. Hence people are bound to question his impartiality. Dr Pipe has since stated that he has received no direct salary from Pfizer, although Pfizer did pay for the research. Ethical questions remain, though, and a US steering group is currently looking at conflicts of interest that may arise when pharmaceutical companies fund research by doctors.

25th January, 2007
Champix has been shown to make quitting smoking three times more successful than just using willpower alone. The data from the six clinical trials has been reviewed by The Cochrane Foundation, an independent non-profit organisation that reviews clinical data