Chantix (varenicline tartrate 0.5 mg) Dailymed

• Angioedema and hypersensitivity reactions: Such reactions, including angioedema, infrequently life threatening, have been reported. Instruct patients to discontinue CHANTIX and immediately seek medical care if symptoms occur. (5.2 and 6.2)
• Serious skin reactions: Rare, potentially life-threatening skin reactions have been reported. Instruct patients to discontinue CHANTIX and contact a healthcare provider immediately at first appearance of skin rash with mucosal lesions. (5.3 and 6.2)
• Cardiovascular events: In a trial of patients with stable cardiovascular disease (CVD) certain cardiovascular events were reported more frequently in patients treated with CHANTIX. Patients with CVD should be instructed to notify their health care providers of new or worsening cardiovascular symptoms and to seek immediate medical attention if they experience signs and symptoms of myocardial infarction. (5.4 and 6.1)
• Accidental injury: Accidental injuries (e.g., traffic accidents) have been reported. Instruct patients to use caution driving or operating machinery until they know how CHANTIX may affect them. (5.5)
• Nausea: Nausea is the most common adverse reaction (up to 30% incidence rate). Dose reduction may be helpful. (5.6)

5.1 Neuropsychiatric Symptoms and Suicidality

Serious neuropsychiatric symptoms have been reported in patients being treated with CHANTIX [see Boxed Warning and Adverse Reactions (6.2)]. These postmarketing reports have included changes in mood (including depression and mania), psychosis, hallucinations, paranoia, delusions, homicidal ideation, hostility, agitation, anxiety, and panic, as well as suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, and completed suicide. Some reported cases may have been complicated by the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal in patients who stopped smoking. Depressed mood may be a symptom of nicotine withdrawal. Depression, rarely including suicidal ideation, has been reported in smokers undergoing a smoking cessation attempt without medication. However, some of these symptoms have occurred in patients taking CHANTIX who continued to smoke. When symptoms were reported, most were during CHANTIX treatment, but some were following discontinuation of CHANTIX therapy.

These events have occurred in patients with and without pre-existing psychiatric disease; some patients have experienced worsening of their psychiatric illnesses. All patients being treated with CHANTIX should be observed for neuropsychiatric symptoms or worsening of pre-existing psychiatric illness. Patients with serious psychiatric illness such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder did not participate in the premarketing studies of CHANTIX, and the safety and efficacy of CHANTIX in such patients has not been established.

Advise patients and caregivers that the patient should stop taking CHANTIX and contact a healthcare provider immediately if agitation, depressed mood, changes in behavior or thinking that are not typical for the patient are observed, or if the patient develops suicidal ideation or suicidal behavior. In many postmarketing cases, resolution of symptoms after discontinuation of CHANTIX was reported, although in some cases the symptoms persisted, therefore, ongoing monitoring and supportive care should be provided until symptoms resolve.

The risks of CHANTIX should be weighed against the benefits of its use. CHANTIX has been demonstrated to increase the likelihood of abstinence from smoking for as long as one year compared to treatment with placebo. The health benefits of quitting smoking are immediate and substantial.

5.2 Angioedema and Hypersensitivity Reactions

There have been postmarketing reports of hypersensitivity reactions including angioedema in patients treated with CHANTIX [see Adverse Reactions (6.2), and Patient Counseling Information (17.10)]. Clinical signs included swelling of the face, mouth (tongue, lips, and gums), extremities, and neck (throat and larynx). There were infrequent reports of life-threatening angioedema requiring emergent medical attention due to respiratory compromise. Instruct patients to discontinue CHANTIX and immediately seek medical care if they experience these symptoms.

5.3 Serious Skin Reactions

There have been postmarketing reports of rare but serious skin reactions, including Stevens-Johnson Syndrome and erythema multiforme, in patients using CHANTIX [see Adverse Reactions (6.2)]. As these skin reactions can be life-threatening, instruct patients to stop taking CHANTIX and contact a healthcare provider immediately at the first appearance of a skin rash with mucosal lesions or any other signs of hypersensitivity.

5.4 Cardiovascular Events

In a controlled clinical trial of CHANTIX administered to patients with stable cardiovascular disease, with approximately 350 patients per treatment arm, certain cardiovascular events were reported more frequently in patients treated with CHANTIX than in patients treated with placebo [see Clinical Trials Experience (6.1)]. These included treatment-emergent events (on-treatment or 30 days after treatment) of angina pectoris (13 patients in the varenicline arm vs. 7 in the placebo arm), and the serious cardiovascular events of nonfatal MI (4 vs. 1) and nonfatal stroke (2 vs. 0). During non-treatment follow up to 52 weeks, serious cardiovascular events included nonfatal myocardial infarction (3 vs. 2), need for coronary revascularization (7 vs. 2), hospitalization for angina pectoris (6 vs. 4), transient ischemic attack (1 vs. 0), new diagnosis of peripheral vascular disease (PVD) or admission for a PVD procedure (5 vs. 2). Serious cardiovascular events occurring over the 52 weeks of the study (treatment emergent and non-treatment emergent) were adjudicated by an independent blinded committee. CHANTIX was not studied in patients with unstable cardiovascular disease or cardiovascular events occurring within two months before screening. Patients should be advised to notify a health care provider of new or worsening symptoms of cardiovascular disease. The risks of CHANTIX should be weighed against the benefits of its use in smokers with cardiovascular disease. Smoking is an independent and major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. CHANTIX has been demonstrated to increase the likelihood of abstinence from smoking for as long as one year compared to treatment with placebo.

5.5 Accidental Injury

There have been postmarketing reports of traffic accidents, near-miss incidents in traffic, or other accidental injuries in patients taking CHANTIX. In some cases, the patients reported somnolence, dizziness, loss of consciousness or difficulty concentrating that resulted in impairment, or concern about potential impairment, in driving or operating machinery. Advise patients to use caution driving or operating machinery or engaging in other potentially hazardous activities until they know how CHANTIX may affect them.

5.6 Nausea

Nausea was the most common adverse reaction reported with CHANTIX treatment. Nausea was generally described as mild or moderate and often transient; however, for some patients, it was persistent over several months. The incidence of nausea was dose-dependent. Initial dose-titration was beneficial in reducing the occurrence of nausea. For patients treated to the maximum recommended dose of 1 mg twice daily following initial dosage titration, the incidence of nausea was 30% compared with 10% in patients taking a comparable placebo regimen. In patients taking CHANTIX 0.5 mg twice daily following initial titration, the incidence was 16% compared with 11% for placebo. Approximately 3% of patients treated with CHANTIX 1 mg twice daily in studies involving 12 weeks of treatment discontinued treatment prematurely because of nausea. For patients with intolerable nausea, a dose reduction should be considered.

6 Adverse Reactions

The following serious adverse reactions were reported in postmarketing experience and are discussed in greater detail in other sections of the labeling:

• Neuropsychiatric symptoms and suicidality [see Boxed Warning and Warnings and Precautions (5.1)
• Angioedema and hypersensitivity reactions [see Warnings and Precautions (5.2)]
• Serious skin reactions [see Warnings and Precautions (5.3)]
• Accidental injury [see Warnings and Precautions (5.5)]

In the placebo-controlled studies, the most common adverse events associated with CHANTIX (>5% and twice the rate seen in placebo-treated patients) were nausea, abnormal (vivid, unusual, or strange) dreams, constipation, flatulence, and vomiting.

The treatment discontinuation rate due to adverse events in patients dosed with 1 mg twice daily was 12% for CHANTIX, compared to 10% for placebo in studies of three months' treatment. In this group, the discontinuation rates that are higher than placebo for the most common adverse events in CHANTIX-treated patients were as follows: nausea (3% vs. 0.5% for placebo), insomnia (1.2% vs. 1.1% for placebo), and abnormal dreams (0.3% vs. 0.2% for placebo).

Smoking cessation, with or without treatment, is associated with nicotine withdrawal symptoms and has also been associated with the exacerbation of underlying psychiatric illness.


Most common adverse reactions (>5% and twice the rate seen in placebo-treated patients) were nausea, abnormal (e.g., vivid, unusual, or strange) dreams, constipation, flatulence, and vomiting. (6.1)

To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact Pfizer Inc at 1-800-438-1985 or FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch.

6.1 Clinical Trials Experience

Because clinical trials are conducted under widely varying conditions, the adverse reactions rates observed in the clinical studies of a drug cannot be directly compared to rates in the clinical trials of another drug and may not reflect the rates observed in clinical practice.

During the premarketing development of CHANTIX, over 4500 subjects were exposed to CHANTIX, with over 450 treated for at least 24 weeks and approximately 100 for a year. Most study participants were treated for 12 weeks or less.

The most common adverse event associated with CHANTIX treatment is nausea, occurring in 30% of patients treated at the recommended dose, compared with 10% in patients taking a comparable placebo regimen [see Warnings and Precautions (5.6)].

Table 1 shows the adverse events for CHANTIX and placebo in the 12-week fixed dose studies with titration in the first week [Studies 2 (titrated arm only), 4, and 5]. Adverse events were categorized using the Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities (MedDRA, Version 7.1).

MedDRA High Level Group Terms (HLGT) reported in ≥ 5% of patients in the CHANTIX 1 mg twice daily dose group, and more commonly than in the placebo group, are uled, along with subordinate Preferred Terms (PT) reported in ≥ 1% of CHANTIX patients (and at least 0.5% more frequent than placebo). Closely related Preferred Terms such as 'Insomnia', 'Initial insomnia', 'Middle insomnia', 'Early morning awakening' were grouped, but individual patients reporting two or more grouped events are only counted once.

Table 1: Common Treatment Emergent AEs (%) in the Fixed-Dose, Placebo-Controlled Studies (HLGTs ≥ 5% of patients in the 1 mg BID CHANTIX Group and more commonly than placebo and PT ≥ 1% in the 1 mg BID CHANTIX Group, and 1 mg BID CHANTIX at least 0.5% more than Placebo)

SYSTEM ORGAN CLASS  High Level Group Term    Preferred Term	CHANTIX0.5 mg BIDN=129	CHANTIX1 mg BIDN=821	Placebo N=805
GASTROINTESTINAL (GI)
  GI Signs and Symptoms
    Nausea	16	30	10
    Abdominal Pain Includes PTs Abdominal (pain, pain upper, pain lower, discomfort, tenderness, distension) and Stomach discomfort	5	7	5
    Flatulence	9	6	3
    Dyspepsia	5	5	3
    Vomiting	1	5	2
  GI Motility/Defecation Conditions
    Constipation	5	8	3
    Gastroesophageal reflux disease	1	1	0
  Salivary Gland Conditions
    Dry mouth	4	6	4
PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS
  Sleep  Disorder/Disturbances
    Insomnia Includes PTs Insomnia/Initial insomnia/Middle insomnia/Early morning awakening	19	18	13
    Abnormal dreams	9	13	5
    Sleep disorder	2	5	3
    Nightmare	2	1	0
NERVOUS SYSTEM
  Headaches
    Headache	19	15	13
  Neurological Disorders  NEC
    Dysgeusia	8	5	4
    Somnolence	3	3	2
    Lethargy	2	1	0
GENERAL DISORDERS
  General Disorders NEC
  Fatigue/Malaise/Asthenia	4	7	6
RESPIR/THORACIC/MEDIAST
  Respiratory Disorders NEC
    Rhinorrhea	0	1	0
    Dyspnea	2	1	1
    Upper Respiratory Tract Disorder	7	5	4
SKIN/SUBCUTANEOUS TISSUE
  Epidermal and Dermal Conditions
    Rash	1	3	2
    Pruritis	0	1	1
METABOLISM & NUTRITION
  Appetite/General Nutrit. Disorders
    Increased appetite	4	3	2
    Decreased appetite/Anorexia	1	2	1

The overall pattern and frequency of adverse events during the longer-term trials was similar to those described in Table 1, though several of the most common events were reported by a greater proportion of patients with long-term use (e.g., nausea was reported in 40% of patients treated with CHANTIX 1 mg twice daily in a one-year study, compared to 8% of placebo-treated patients).

Following is a ul of treatment-emergent adverse events reported by patients treated with CHANTIX during all clinical trials. The uling does not include those events already uled in the previous tables or elsewhere in labeling, those events for which a drug cause was remote, those events which were so general as to be uninformative, and those events reported only once which did not have a substantial probability of being acutely life-threatening.

Blood and Lymphatic System Disorders. Infrequent: anemia, lymphadenopathy. Rare: leukocytosis, splenomegaly, thrombocytopenia.

Cardiac Disorders. Infrequent: angina pectoris, arrhythmia, bradycardia, myocardial infarction, palpitations, tachycardia, ventricular extrasystoles. Rare: acute coronary syndrome, atrial fibrillation, cardiac flutter, cor pulmonale, coronary artery disease.

Ear and Labyrinth Disorders. Infrequent: tinnitus, vertigo. Rare: deafness, Meniere's disease.

Endocrine Disorders. Infrequent: thyroid gland disorders.

Eye Disorders. Infrequent: conjunctivitis, dry eye, eye irritation, eye pain, vision blurred, visual disturbance. Rare: acquired night blindness, blindness transient, cataract subcapsular, ocular vascular disorder, photophobia, vitreous floaters.

Gastrointestinal Disorders. Frequent: diarrhea. Infrequent: dysphagia, enterocolitis, eructation, esophagitis, gastritis, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, mouth ulceration. Rare: gastric ulcer, intestinal obstruction, pancreatitis acute.

General Disorders and Administration Site Conditions. Frequent: chest pain, edema, influenza-like illness. Infrequent: chest discomfort, chills, pyrexia.

Hepatobiliary Disorders. Infrequent: gall bladder disorder.

Investigations. Frequent: liver function test abnormal, weight increased. Infrequent: electrocardiogram abnormal, muscle enzyme increased, urine analysis abnormal.

Metabolism and Nutrition Disorders. Infrequent: diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, hypokalemia. Rare: hypoglycemia.

Musculoskeletal and Connective Tissue Disorders. Frequent: arthralgia, back pain, muscle cramp, musculoskeletal pain, myalgia. Infrequent: arthritis, osteoporosis. Rare: myositis.

Nervous System Disorders. Frequent: disturbance in attention, dizziness, sensory disturbance. Infrequent: amnesia, migraine, parosmia, psychomotor hyperactivity, restless legs syndrome, syncope, tremor. Rare: balance disorder, cerebrovascular accident, convulsion, dysarthria, facial palsy, mental impairment, multiple sclerosis, nystagmus, psychomotor skills impaired, transient ischemic attack, visual field defect.

Psychiatric Disorders. Infrequent: disorientation, dissociation, libido decreased, mood swings, thinking abnormal. Rare: bradyphrenia, euphoric mood.

Renal and Urinary Disorders. Frequent: polyuria. Infrequent: nephrolithiasis, nocturia, urethral syndrome, urine abnormality. Rare: renal failure acute, urinary retention.

Reproductive System and Breast Disorders. Rare: sexual dysfunction. Frequent: menstrual disorder. Infrequent: erectile dysfunction.

Respiratory, Thoracic and Mediastinal Disorders. Frequent: epistaxis, respiratory disorders. Infrequent: asthma. Rare: pleurisy, pulmonary embolism.

Skin and Subcutaneous Tissue Disorders. Frequent: hyperhidrosis. Infrequent: acne, dry skin, eczema, erythema, psoriasis, urticaria. Rare: photosensitivity reaction.

Vascular Disorders. Frequent: hot flush. Infrequent: thrombosis.

CHANTIX has also been studied in a trial conducted in patients with stable cardiovascular disease, a trial conducted in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and a trial conducted in generally healthy patients (similar to those in the premarketing studies) in which they were allowed to select a quit date between days 8 and 35 of treatment ("alternative quit date instruction trial").

In the trial of patients with stable cardiovascular disease, more types and a greater number of cardiovascular events were reported compared to premarketing studies. Treatment-emergent (on-treatment or 30 days after treatment) cardiovascular events reported with a frequency ≥ 1% in either treatment group in this study were angina pectoris (3.7% and 2.0% for varenicline and placebo, respectively), chest pain (2.5% vs. 2.3%), peripheral edema (2.0% vs. 1.1%), hypertension (1.4% vs. 2.6%), and palpitations (0.6 % vs. 1.1%). Deaths and serious cardiovascular events occurring over the 52 weeks of the study (treatment emergent and non-treatment emergent) were adjudicated by a blinded, independent committee. The following treatment-emergent adjudicated events occurred with a frequency ≥1% in either treatment group: nonfatal MI (1.1% vs. 0.3% for varenicline and placebo, respectively), and hospitalization for angina pectoris (0.6% vs. 1.1%). During non-treatment follow up to 52 weeks, the adjudicated events included need for coronary revascularization (2.0% vs. 0.6%), hospitalization for angina pectoris (1.7% vs. 1.1%), and new diagnosis of peripheral vascular disease (PVD) or admission for a PVD procedure (1.4% vs. 0.6%). Some of the patients requiring coronary revascularization underwent the procedure as part of management of nonfatal MI and hospitalization for angina. Cardiovascular death occurred in 0.3% of patients in the varenicline arm and 0.6% of patients in the placebo arm over the course of the 52-week study.

Adverse events in the trial of patients with COPD and in the alternative quit date instruction trial were quantitatively and qualitatively similar to those observed in premarketing studies.

6.2 Postmarketing Experience

The following adverse events have been reported during post-approval use of CHANTIX. Because these events are reported voluntarily from a population of uncertain size, it is not possible to reliably estimate their frequency or establish a causal relationship to drug exposure.

There have been reports of depression, mania, psychosis, hallucinations, paranoia, delusions, homicidal ideation, aggression, hostility, anxiety, and panic, as well as suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, and completed suicide in patients attempting to quit smoking while taking CHANTIX [see Boxed Warning, Warnings and Precautions (5.1)]. Smoking cessation with or without treatment is associated with nicotine withdrawal symptoms and the exacerbation of underlying psychiatric illness. Not all patients had known pre-existing psychiatric illness and not all had discontinued smoking.

There have been reports of hypersensitivity reactions, including angioedema [see Warnings and Precautions (5.2)].

There have also been reports of serious skin reactions, including Stevens-Johnson Syndrome and erythema multiforme, in patients taking CHANTIX [see Warnings and Precautions (5.3)].

There have been reports of myocardial infarction (MI) and cerebrovascular accident (CVA) including ischemic and hemorrhagic events in patients taking Chantix. In the majority of the reported cases, patients had pre-existing cardiovascular disease and/or other risk factors. Although smoking is a risk factor for MI and CVA, based on temporal relationship between medication use and events, a contributory role of varenicline cannot be ruled out.