Health Minister Terry Lake has released the following statement:

"I'd like to clear up some misconceptions regarding the release of an email discussing the anti-smoking drug Champix and the Ministry of Health's smoking cessation program."

"Yesterday, the Opposition asked questions in the legislature related to government's smoking cessation program. Specifically, they made allegations about research into the anti-smoking medication Champix."

"These are the facts. There was a research proposal, which the ministry received in June 2012 from the Therapeutics Initiative, that proposed to examine two main issues: the effectiveness of the smoking cessation program that our government introduced; and the effectiveness and safety of Champix compared to other smoking cessation medications and nicotine replacement therapies"

"A working group responsible for reviewing pharmaceutical research proposals, made up of civil servants in the Ministry of Health, decided not to support this specific proposal."

"At the time this decision was made, the ministry already had requested a different, but related, research project that is examining the safety and effectiveness of smoking cessation drugs, including Champix."

"This independent study is being conducted by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research's Drug Safety and Effectiveness Network (DSEN). This research project was first proposed by the ministry in August 2011, long before this other research proposal was received. The research is expected to be completed later this year."

"We look forward to its completion, which will feed into the overall evaluation of the program that the ministry is doing. The ministry's evaluation will assess whether the program helps people stay smoke-free and whether the program reduces the risk of health complications from smoking. This work will take some time, but is expected to be done in 2014."

"To be clear, the ministry decided to include Champix in its smoking cessation program only after this drug went through a thorough review of safety and effectiveness by Health Canada, the independent national Common Drug Review, and B.C.'s own Drug Benefit Council"

"All of these bodies continue to monitor the ongoing independent research and data on the safety of this drug. In October of last year, Health Canada finished several systematic reviews of Champix and reaffirmed that it considers the benefits of Champix, when used as directed on the label, continue to outweigh the risks."

"The ministry and I personally take the duty to protect the safety of British Columbians very seriously. We have and will continue to be informed in our decisions by the best scientific evidence available."

Media Contact:

Ryan Jabs
Media Relations Manager
Ministry of Health
250 952-1887 (media line)