Denny writes:

I am prescribing Chantix frequently - while Chantix is not the safest
drug ever made, it is head and shoulders better than the risk from
continuing to smoke...


It strongly binds to nicotinic receptors (which is probably a neutral
to the FAA)..
But it moderately binds to 5-HT receptors (which the FAA gets nervous
about)..

Selected (by me) findings are "frequent" chest pain, cardiac
arrythmias, elevated liver enzymes, and edema...
But more importantly, "frequent" anxiety, depression, and
irritability...

My judgement is that the FAA medical staff will not approve it's use
in flight...

Since Chantix is not something that a person takes for prolonged periods, it
shouldn't be a problem. It might be necessary to abstain from flying for the
course of a 12- or 24-week treatment program, but that's all.