Cessation of smoking as a background of therapy with Cumpix®, and without it, is accompanied by various symptoms,in particular, decreased mood and dysphoria, insomnia, irritability, feelings of displeasure and anger, anxiety, impaired concentration, motor anxiety, decreased heart rate, increased appetite, or weight gain.
Refusal to smoke on the background of drug therapy or without it was accompanied by an aggravation of concomitant mental disorders. However, neither during the development of clinical trials of Champix® nor during the analysis of their results, attempts were made to distinguish between undesirable phenomena associated with the use of the study drug and undesirable phenomena possibly associated with the syndrome of "withdrawal" of nicotine.
According to the results of clinical studies, adverse reactions usually appeared within the first week after initiation of treatment, were usually mild or moderate and their frequency was independent of the patient's age, race or sex.
In patients who received Champix® at the recommended dose of 1 mg twice daily after the titration period, the most common of the reported side effects was nausea (28.6%).In most cases, nausea occurred during the early stages of therapy, was mild or moderate and rarely required discontinuation of the drug. The incidence of discontinuation of therapy due to adverse events was 11.4% for the varenicline group and 9.7% for the placebo group. The incidence of discontinuation due to major adverse reactions was as follows: nausea 2.7% and 0.6% in varenicline and placebo, respectively; headache 0.6% and 1.0%; insomnia - 1.3% and 1.2%; unusual dreams - 0.2% and 0.2%.
Against the background of taking Champix®, the following reactions are also possible on the part of organs and systems (frequency assessment criteria: very frequent ≥ 10%, frequent - from ≥ 1% to <10%, infrequent - from ≥ 0.1% to <1%; rare - from ≥ 0.01% to <0.1%, very rare - <0.01%, frequency unknown - can not be determined based on available data):
Infections: very frequent - nasopharyngitis; frequent - bronchitis, sinusitis; Infrequent - fungal infections, viral infections.
Metabolic and nutritional disorders: frequent - decreased appetite, increased appetite; infrequent - anorexia, polydipsia, frequency unknown - hyperglycemia, diabetes mellitus.
Mental disorders: very frequent - unusual dreams, insomnia; infrequent - panic reaction, bradyphrenia, disturbance of thinking,mood swings; frequency is unknown - somnambulism.
Neurological disorders: very frequent - headache; frequent - drowsiness, dizziness, changes in taste, incl. decreased taste sensations; infrequent - tremor, impaired coordination, lethargy, dysarthria, hypertension, motor anxiety, dysphoria, hypoesthesia, apathy, increased libido, decreased libido; rare - a violation of cerebral circulation.
Heart Disease: infrequent - atrial fibrillation, sensation palpitation, angina, tachycardia; frequency unknown - myocardial infarction.
Disorders from the side of the organ of vision: infrequent - scotoma, scleral discoloration, pain in the eyeball, pupil dilated, photophobia, myopia, increased lacrimation, conjunctivitis.
Violations from the organ of hearing and vestibular apparatus: infrequent - noise in the ears.
Disturbances from the respiratory system, thorax and mediastinum: frequent - shortness of breath, cough; infrequent - infections of the upper respiratory tract, hoarseness of the voice, pain in the pharynx and larynx, irritation of the pharynx, congestion in the airways, congestion in the paranasal sinuses, exudation in the nasopharynx, rhinorrhea, snoring, dysphonia, allergic rhinitis.
Gastrointestinal disorders: highly frequent - nausea; frequent - vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, bloating, stomach discomfort, dyspepsia, flatulence, dryness of the oral mucosa, gastroesophageal reflux disease, abdominal pain, toothache; infrequent - vomiting of blood, an admixture of blood in the stool, gastritis, intestinal disorders, belching, aphthous stomatitis, tenderness of the gums, lined tongue.
Disturbances from the skin and subcutaneous tissues: frequent - a rash, itchy skin; infrequent - generalized rash, erythema, acne, hyperhidrosis, night sweats.
Disorders from the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue: frequent - arthralgia, myalgia, back pain; infrequent - stiffness of the joints, muscle spasms, bone chondrite.
Disorders from the kidneys and urinary tract: infrequent - Glucosuria, nocturia, polyuria, pollakiuria.
Disorders from the reproductive system and breast: infrequent - menorrhagia, vaginal discharge, sexual dysfunction.
General and local reactions: frequent - chest pains, fatigue; infrequent - chest discomfort, fever, sensation of cold, asthenia, disturbed circadian rhythm of sleep, malaise, cyst, flu-like syndrome.
Research results: frequent - increase in body weight; infrequent - increased blood pressure (BP), segment depression ST on the ECG, a decrease in the amplitude of the T wave on the ECG, an increase in the heart rate, the "tides" of blood to the skin of the face, a change in the liver function, a decrease in the number of platelets, a change in sperm, an increase in the concentration of C-reactive protein, a decrease in calcium concentration in the blood.
Cessation of smoking with or without therapy is accompanied by the development of nicotine withdrawal syndrome and exacerbation of concomitant mental disorders.
In the course of post-marketing research In patients who tried to quit smoking with Champix®, cases of depressed mood, agitation, behavioral or thinking disorders, anxiety, psychosis, hallucinations, mood swings, aggressive behavior, suicidal tendencies and suicidal attempts were recorded. Since these phenomena are fixed according to the results of voluntary communication by a population of undetermined size, it is not always possible to establish precisely their frequency or cause-and-effect relationship with the action of the drug.Not all patients described in these reports had a history of mental disorders and not all of them stopped smoking. The role of the Champix® preparation in the development of the reactions described in these reports is not known. Hypersensitivity reactions such as angioneurotic edema and rare but severe cases of skin reactions, including Stevens-Johnson syndrome and erythema multiforme, have also been reported (see "Specific guidance").