VOA标准英语2011--Study: Stop-Smoking Aid Ups Cardiovascul

Study: Stop-Smoking Aid Ups Cardiovascular Risks

An analysis of more than a dozen drug studies finds that smokers¹ who take the drug Chantix to help them kick the habit face significantly higher risks of cardiovascular problems including stroke, heart rhythm irregularities and heart failure, along with other serious side effects.
The drug's maker², Pfizer, says it's too early to draw conclusions from the data and that more studies are needed.
The study reviewed the data from 14 clinical trials of Chantix. It found a 72-percent increase in the risk of cardiovascular incidents among smokers who took the quit-smoking aid compared to those who received a placebo³ or sugar pill. Researchers evaluated information collected on 8,200 smokers from around the world who did not have heart disease when the studies began.
The studies were submitted to US drug regulators as part of Pfizer's application for approval.
Sonal Singh, professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, was a lead author of the study.
Overall, Singh says, there was a 1.06 percent increased risk of heart problems among study participants who took the smoking cessation drug compared to a .82 percent risk of cardiovascular disease in the placebo groups that were followed by Pfizer for one year after they stopped using Chantix.
While the difference in risk may not sound significant, Singh says the impact is great if you consider the number of users in the US and nearly 100 countries worldwide where Chantix has been approved as a quit-smoking aid.
"If you look at the (US) population, there were more than three million users of Chantix," says Singh. "So, even a small fractional increase in relative risk of heart attack translates into thousands of heart attacks in the United States. And if you look at 13 million users of Chantix worldwide even that quarter of a percent risk - you're talking about thousands of lives."
The heart problems began to show up as early as one year after the volunteers completed a 12-week course of treatment with Chantix.
"My main reaction is that this will be distressing⁴ news for patients who are trying to quit smoking on their own and finding it very, very difficult," says Gail Cawkwell, vice⁵ president of medical affairs for Pfizer.
Cawkwell acknowledges a small increase in the risk of heart problems among Chantix users, saying the company will work with the federal approving agency - the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) - to figure out what's going on.
"I think it's also important to recognize that the kind of cardiovascular events are a mixture of events that can be caused by lots of different things," says Cawkwell. "So we're really looking closely at this data, all of our own data, and working with the FDA to do an analysis that will hopefully give us important information about the cardiovascular safety profile of Chantix."
Chantix contains what are called black box warnings stating that the drug causes changes in behavior and mood, including suicidal thoughts and actions.
Cawkwell says the company will likely add a warning about cardiovascular problems to the black box.
Curt⁶ Furberg, professor of public health and Sciences at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, also co-authored the report on Chantix.
He blames the problems with Chantix and other medications on an inadequate⁷ drug review process in the US.
"It involves few patients and if you don't look for suicides or violence or heart attacks, you don't find it," says Furberg. "And the companies are not eager to discover problems in the pre-approval process. So, it's all detected after approval."

1 smokers   

吸烟者( smoker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily. 许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。
• Chain smokers don't care about the dangers of smoking. 烟鬼似乎不在乎吸烟带来的种种危害。

2 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

3 placebo   

n.安慰剂；宽慰话

参考例句：

• The placebo has been found to work with a lot of different cases.人们已发现安慰剂能在很多不同的病例中发挥作用。
• The placebo effect refers to all the observable behaviors caused by placebo.安慰剂效应是指由安慰剂所引起的可观察的行为。

4 distressing   

a.使人痛苦的

参考例句：

• All who saw the distressing scene revolted against it. 所有看到这种悲惨景象的人都对此感到难过。
• It is distressing to see food being wasted like this. 这样浪费粮食令人痛心。

5 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

6 curt   

adj.简短的，草率的

参考例句：

• He gave me an extremely curt answer.他对我作了极为草率的答复。
• He rapped out a series of curt commands.他大声发出了一连串简短的命令。

7 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。