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BC will take smoking drug warning into consideration, says premier

Recent warnings about a quit smoking drug will be taken into consideration before making a final decision on whether to pay for it publicly, said British Columbia Premier Christy Clark.

Health Canada issued a statement June 27 "informing Canadians of an ongoing review of the smoking-cessation aid Champix (the brand name for the prescription drug varenicline tartrate) and the possibility of a slightly increased risk of heart-related side effects in patients who have cardiovascular disease."

The warning followed a statement from the Food and Drug Administration in the United States a week earlier releasing details of a clinical trial looking at 700 smokers with cardiovascular disease.

That trial found that taking Champix did help people quit smoking but doubled the risk for patients with cardiovascular disease of having a heart attack or other related trouble to two percent, compared with one percent for those not taking the drug.

In May Clark announced that B.C. would begin publicly paying for smoking cessation therapies, including Champix, which is made by Pfizer. Saskatchewan and Quebec are the only provinces in Canada that pay for the drug.

"I haven't seen the warning yet," Clark said June 27. "Obviously we want to make sure that anything we're providing through our health care system is safe for people, so that's the kind of warning that I know the medical services people will take into consideration in the normal process."

France recently stopped paying for Champix, which has been the subject of warnings and lawsuits related to an increased risk of suicide or self harm.

"If this drug was a huge advance, effective, safe and not too expensive, every province would pay for it," said Alan Cassels, health policy researcher. "The fact that two out of ten provinces pay for it is not a good sign."

A final decision is expected in British Columbia by September, when Clark has said funding for smoking cessation programs will begin. Clark promised such funding as part of her campaign to lead the BC Liberal Party.

Andrew MacLeod is The Tyee’s Legislative Bureau Chief in Victoria. Reach him here.


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