This post was originally written in 2008. We do not know of any active Chantix suicide lawsuits that are pending in 2019. Ultimately, Pfizer paid almost $300 million to settle thousands of lawsuits alleging adverse neuropsychiatric effects from Chantix. The average settlement value of the Chantix lawsuits was not high. But some suicide cases were seven-figure settlements.
In 2016, there was a study done that was published in Lancet that concluded that Chantix did not cause suicidal ideations or actions. Some defense lawyers have argued this is an example of litigation that should not have settled because the science was unclear. But others have pushed back, arguing that the Lancet study (called the EAGLES study) was scientifically unsound.
This is a complex issue. I suspect Chantix has saved lives. I don’t think there was ever a good argument to take the product off the market. (Cf. I may have suggested the possibility below in 2008.) But if there is a concern about the drug, should the manufacturer provide the facts surrounding that concern so doctors and patients can decide for themselves?