Zyban, an anti-smoking drug, may have been one of the factors contributing to the suicide death of an 18-year-old college student.

He stopped taking the drug after one week, however six months later was found to have committed suicide.

According to a psychiatrist who treated the boy, he had a mixed anxiety depressive disorder that may have been affected by Zyban. The coroner also stated that the effects of Zyban may have contributed to the student’s suicide, however mentioned that the boy’s obsessive personality and heavy drinking may have also played a role.

Another physician and expert of drug effects stated that Zyban could not have been in the student’s system when he died, however it could have contributed to his altered state of mind.

A spokeswoman for GlaxoSmithKline said the drug has been tested for safety and has been used by about 10.5 million people worldwide. She mentioned that mood changes, including depression and anxiety, often occur when people try to stop smoking, regardless of whether a drug is used or not.

BBC News February 24, 2003

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Previous research has supported that cigarettes themselves may actually serve as antidepressants. This is one of the reasons why using an antidepressant like Zyban does make logical sense. However, if Zyban isn’t effective and the cigarettes are removed there is a clear risk of depression, which includes its most devastating complication, suicide, as the above report illustrates. I have long supported the recommendation that smoking cessation should be delayed until you have had an opportunity to optimize your diet as this will help decrease the risk of potential depressive complications. Removing sugars and grains, and being certain to have balanced fatty acids like fish oil in your diet, will go a long way toward preventing complications like the one in the report above. If depression does become an issue, omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil have been found to naturally ease depression. I offer Carlson fish oil and cod liver oil on this site because its high quality has proven superior to that of other brands I have tried. For more details on the link between omega-fats and depression, I highly recommend the book, "The Omega-3 Connection." Related Articles: Finally, Proof for My Assertion That Sugar is More Dangerous Than Smoking Cigarettes May Serve As an Antidepressant