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A TEENAGER trying
to give up smoking by using the drug Zyban killed
himself after it made him depressed, an inquest has
heard.
Nick Hirst, who
wanted to quit to improve his fitness for rugby, took
the drug for just one week.
After being
prescribed it, he told family and friends he felt an
immediate "change within himself" and suffered bouts of
depression.
Six months later in
May 2001, Nick, 18, was found hanged from a tree in
Riverside Park in Macclesfield, Cheshire. His mother
Dianne claimed Zyban not only stopped him smoking but
from wanting to do anything.
Coroner Nicholas
Rheinberg said the use of Zyban may have been one of the
factors in the death which included heavy drinking and
an obsessive personality.
Speaking after the
verdict, Nick's family said in a statement: "We hope
this inquest will raise public awareness about the
potential dangers of Zyban."
Verdict:
suicide.
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