We’ve seen more than a few breathtaking stories in recent years about the kind of treatment veterans receive when they return from Iraq, but this is just astounding.
Mentally distressed veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan are being recruited for government tests on pharmaceutical drugs linked to suicide and other violent side effects, an investigation by ABC News and The Washington Times has found. […]
In one of the human experiments, involving the anti-smoking drug Chantix, Veterans Administration doctors waited more than three months before warning veterans about the possible serious side effects, including suicide and neuropsychiatric behavior.
“Lab rat, guinea pig, disposable hero,” said former US Army sniper James Elliott in describing how he felt he was betrayed by the Veterans Administration.
Elliott served a 15-month tour in Iraq in 2003 and 2004, and was diagnosed with PTSD upon his return. Three years later, he was recruited for the Chantix anti-smoking study, and a few months later, Elliot suffered a breakdown that led to a violent confrontation with police officers.
Three weeks later, the VA advised veterans in the Chantix study about some of the side effects associated with the drug, including “anxiety, nervousness, tension, depression, thoughts of suicide, and attempted and completed suicide.” The VA alert came after three separate warnings from the FDA and Chantix’ maker Pfizer about the possible side effects. (The FAA, citing the drug’s side effects, has already prohibited commercial airline pilots from using Chantix.)
Elliott not only believes there’s a connection between his breakdown and the drug, but also wants to know why the VA didn’t make him aware of the risks. “They never told me that I was going to be suicidal, that I would cease sleeping. They never told me anything except this will help me quit smoking,” Elliott said.
And here’s the kicker: the VA sees no reason to discontinue the Chantix study.
[Dr. Miles McFall, co-administrator of the VA study] said there is no proof that Elliott’s breakdown was caused by Chantix and he sees no reason to discontinue the study. Some 140 veterans diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder continue to receive Chantix as part of a smoking cessation study.
Dr. McFall says the VA decided to continue the Chantix study because “it would be depriving our veterans of an effective method of treatment to help them stop smoking.”
A leading bioethicist has a different take.
“How this study continued in the face of these difficulties is almost impossible to understand,” said Arthur Caplan, director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania. […]
Caplan, one of the country’s leading medical ethicists, said he was stunned by the VA’s decision to continue the Chantix experiment.
“Why take the group most at risk and keep them going? That doesn’t make any sense, once you know the risk is there,” he said.
And the Obama campaign is trying to help bring attention to the controversy.
“It is outrageous and unacceptable that our government would irresponsibly endanger veterans who have already sacrificed so much for our country. Our veterans — particularly those suffering from mental health injuries — should have the very best health care and support in the world, they should never be needlessly exposed to drugs without proper notification of the dangers involved or effective monitoring of the side effects. I will immediately be asking for a full and thorough investigation of how our government could yet again let down our veterans and their families who have given so much to their country, and who have paid so much for the failures of civilian leadership in Washington. It is time to demand accountability and to ensure that this kind of breach of trust never takes place again.”
Stay tuned.