Court in Alabama Set to Hear Chantix Suicide Lawsuit

Birmingham, ALAn Alabama federal court will bring together a number of Chantix suicide lawsuits against Pfizer Inc., Reuters reports.

span itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject" style="display:block">US Judge Inge Johnson of the Northern District of Alabama will reportedly handle the pretrials and will rule on the civil trials if a settlement is not reached outside of court, the news provider said.

According to the plaintiffs' lead attorney, approximately 60 percent of the 1,200 total Chantix cases allege that use of the drug, which Pfizer says helps people to quit smoking, led to suicide, attempted suicide or other acts of injury.

"Chantix was put on the market without adequate warnings and it is a dangerous drug... Many people prior to July 2009 were not aware that this drug was not tested in any patient with any mental condition," he said.

The attorney added that the alleged deaths and injuries stemming from the use of the drug are tragedies that "didn't need to happen."

Other less serious side effects of Chantix can include nausea, constipation and drowsiness, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information.