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Dozens of drugs may cause violent behavior...one stands out
By Jenny Thompson on 01/09/2011
It's hard to imagine someone going on a violent rampage after taking a fish oil supplement for a few days.
Same for someone looking for a sedative effect with melatonin or chasing the blues with St. John's wort. I don't think you'll find any cases where nonviolent people used those supplements and then assaulted someone.
But prescription drugs? Better put your protective headgear on, because with certain types of drugs the side effects can get pretty rough. Especially for innocent bystanders.
Anger mismanagement
Last summer, a team led by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices took a close look at adverse event reports for Chantix, the popular smoking cessation drug.
A quick glance at the Chantix website, and you'll see what they were looking for. The list of side effects reads like a Stephen King plot outline: hallucinations, suicidal thoughts, panic attacks, depression, and paranoia.
With a dramatic list like that, these other side effects don't really pop out quite as vividly: anger, and aggressive or violent behavior.
When the ISMP team did some digging, they came up with dozens of wild adverse event reports that involved acts or thoughts of aggression or violence.
For instance...
- A young woman using Chantix attempted suicide after she began beating her boyfriend because she said he looked "peaceful."
- Another young woman had nightmares and attacked her fiancé with a knife.
- A middle-aged man punched a stranger in a bowling alley.
- A woman became enraged while driving and struck her daughter in the mouth.
- In three cases, subjects committed suicide. Two others attempted suicide.
What's most disturbing is that almost none of these people had ever displayed extreme moods or behaviors like this before.
One subject, who had nightmares, anger, depression, and homicidal thoughts, reported: "It wasn't me at all during the time I was taking the drug."
If you're like me, you might wonder if irritability from nicotine withdrawal could spill over into very aggressive behavior. But nearly all the adverse events took place soon after medication started--BEFORE most of the subjects had actually stopped smoking.
A history of violence
More recently, the same ISMP team expanded on their earlier research by combing through the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System. They examined five years of reports that included thoughts or acts of violence toward others.
More than 1,500 reports were spread out among 31 drugs. These reports included homicides, physical assaults, physical abuse, homicidal ideation, and other acts of violence. About 80 percent of the reports were linked to antidepressants, sedatives, hypnotics, and ADHD drugs.
And can you guess which drug topped the list? Of course! Old, reliable Chantix racked up the lion's share among those 1,500+ reports.
The ISMP team admits that an adverse event report doesn't necessarily mean the drug caused the event. But they also note that many cases probably go unreported because patients usually don't make the connection between their drug use and violent actions.
A spokesperson for Pfizer (the maker of Chantix), told Pharmalot, "There is no reliable scientific evidence that Chantix causes violent thoughts or actions."
That statement could cause violent thoughts or actions! Wouldn't it be great if people beating people up or killing themselves was enough for Pfizer to do something--even without scientific evidence?
Printer-friendly versionAbout the author
Jenny Thompson is the Director of the Health Sciences Institute and editor of the HSI e-Alert. Through HSI, she and her team uncover important health information and expose ridiculous health misinformation, most notably through the HSI e-Alert.
Visit www.hsionline.com to sign up for the free HSI e-Alert.
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Comments
Rabbit
This is sad for smokers. How are they supposed to quit? My brother became extremely mean and difficult to talk to when he was trying to quit smoking. He was not taking any cessation drug. It all seems hopeless.
This captcha thing is ridiculous. Even when it is typed correctly, you play games each time on the first code.
Anonymous
Very thought provoking report which only glances on the tip of the iceberg. I would like to see a congressional investigation into the most aggregeous acts of violence: those involving mass murders or those going "postal". It is my opinion that there will be a causal link between the perpetrator and prescription meds. When are we going to realize that there is a very definite link between meds and acts of violence; whether it is self-inflicted or to others. Those interested can find research into in Peter Breggin, MD's books, TOXIC PSYCHIATRY, TALKING BACK TO PROSAC. Chilling to the core.
Diana S. Ludwig, ND
Zioptis
I heard a tip long ago at a stop smoking/weight loss (me) seminar that may help smokers quit. I never smoked, so I have not tried it but here it is:
They said smokers are addicted to TWO things: 1. Nicotine...we knew that one. 2. A blood sugar rush to the brain. What?
Tobaccos's curing process includes spraying a solution on the tobacco leaves to improve the taste. The main ingredient is sugar!
Smoking therefore causes a blood sugar rush to the brain. When it dies down the urge to repeat the cycle ensues, but the smoker doesn't usually equate it with the blood sugar rush they're so used to.
To simulate the blood sugar rush caused by tobacco, take a Pez brand candy (regular, NOT diet) and let it dissolve UNDERNEATH the tongue. This gives sublingual ingestion of the sugar for quick absorbtion.
I saw a stop smoking product once...think it was called Smoke Away. They had herbal capsules, and for "emergency cravings" they had small pellets with directions to let one dissolve underneath the tongue.
I looked at the list of ingredients. Sure enough, number ONE was SUGAR. Hmmm....
Anonymous
I stopped smoking after 40 years of it.
WILLPOWER and a little help from nicotine gum.
Gradual reduction in amount used and gradually extending the time between 'fixes' until I was using a quarter of a piece a day - just before bedtime. That's when I said 'what's the point?' and quit altogether.
Fifteen years ago and never looked back, despite having tried and failed many times before.
The moral of the story?
YOU CAN DO IT WITHOUT DANGEROUS DRUGS. YOU JUST HAVE TO WANT TO ENOUGH.
What prompted me?
Shortness of breath and the fact that my girlfriend had been told she had lung cancer and nothing could be done....
Lori
There's a survey going on now on Medpage regarding the author of the study that implied that autism and vaccines were linked. The question is...should he be prosecuted, now that it's come out that the study is essentialy fraud because of some of his reporting. I find it almost amusing that there's so much stir over this when pharmaceutical companies develop drugs that need little warning boxes to let people know the drug could kill them. I don't support falsifying data, and you can bet your bottom dollar that the research supporting the effectiveness/safety of these drugs has been tweaked by the time they reach the public...
Anonymous
My Son was the most Intelligent, Gentle, Charming Reserved and lovely Person you could ever meet, in fact people were drawn to Him like a magnet, because He was such an Interesting Person to Communicate with and be with, People just loved being in His Company, Then all that changed when He was just taken off the street one evening, by Police, as an Innocent Person, Assaulted as they forced Him into a Divi Van, and was just put into a Pschyce ward, and put on Pschyce, Drugs, Which apart from making a Complete Mess of Him, also made Him Aggressive and Violent and Disructive, and what appeared to be as it is mentioned some apparent Homicidal ideation, A totally Destroyed being, not to mention Braindamage, These Drugs are BAD! BAD! BAD!
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