Life insurance companies are finding it hard to keep up with real estate investment losses and costly retirement contracts in the midst of the current economic hurricane. With the prospect of even more credit rating cuts for the balance of the year, companies are faced with little choice but to find more capital sources from an unforgiving marketplace.

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The headline “suicide” probably jumped out at you like a red flag in front of a mad bull. Suicide is nothing to take lightly, and it certainly isn’t in this case here. Chantix, an anti-smoking drug created by the pharmaceutical mega-giant Pfizer, has been linked to cases of depression, psychiatric problems and even suicide. Maybe you have never heard of the drug, but you probably know someone in your life who is a smoker. If they have ever thought of quitting, pass this vital information along to them.

What is Chantix?

According to drugs.com, Chantix “is used as a smoking cessation medicine or treatment. It is used together with behavior modification and counseling support to help you stop smoking cigarettes. Chantix works in the brain to block the pleasurable effects of smoking. This helps to decrease your desire to keep smoking.” That right there might be a warning sign for some: “works in the brain.” Taking a drug like this is no lighthearted undertaking; it literally affects the way your mind thinks and feels about smoking, and obviously other things in your life as well, and as you will see below, has had disastrous side effects.

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This poignant vignette portrays the last moments of a father’s life and his unfulfilled wishes for his son.  The visuals are so good that the subtitles seem unnecessary, even if one can’t understand the words. Incredibly, the commercial is for Thai life insurance policies, but it just as well could have appeared as a clip in a silver-screen drama.

photo credit: John Griffiths

Heath Ledger, who tragically died of acute prescription drug intoxication in January of 2008, may have his life insurance policy revoked.  Ledger’s policy was carried by ReliaStar (a subsidiary of ING Americas), and its benefit was a reported $10 million. But lawyers for the life insurance company say they intend to investigate the matter, and “take the depositions of Mary-Kate Olsen, as well as the masseuse who was at Ledger’s home when he died.”

Though Ledger had not been taking any illegal substances at the time of his death according to the New York coroner, the insurance company is reportedly looking into the possibility that he had lied on his insurance application. If Ledger had lied, whether it was about any potential past illegal drug use, or the prescription drugs that he was taking, it’s possible that the $10 million policy will be revoked and his two-year-old daughter will not receive the benefits under her trust.