| One of these statistics, Karen McGhee, has no recollection of attempting to hang herself from the banister at her home in Greenock. Remarkably, she survived, but she is convinced the drug she took to help her stop smoking caused her to attempt to take her own life. Although she had experienced mild depression on and off for 20 years, she says Champix made her feel worse than ever. Paul Robinson, 46, a co-owner of delicatessens in Castle Douglas and Dumfries, had been smoking all his adult life before he was prescribed Champix. "I was smoking up to 30 discount cigarettes a day but I wanted to give up, for health reasons and because of my age. "I'd given up once before for nine months when I was on the patches, then I started again and probably smoked even more." A friend told him about Champix and it seemed a miracle cure. He was prescribed the drug and, after just a few days, went to have a cigarette. "The taste was absolutely disgusting," he says. "I thought, 'That must be me, I'll try again.' I gave it three or four chances to make sure. Then I just stopped." |