Drivers losing control of their Ambien(ce)

Drivers losing control of their Ambien(ce)

Police officials have discovered a new culprit who is freely roaming around America's streets and causing havoc at will. No, it is not alcohol, but the nation's best-selling sleeping pill, Ambien. In fact the menace has increased so much that Ambien is now on top 10 list of drugs that are found in dysfunctional motorists in some states.

In Wisconsin, the drug was found in 187 drivers who were arrested for faulty driving between 1999 and 2004. Sanofi-Aventis, the company which manufacturers the drug, said that its record was impeccable in the last 13 years. However Melissa Feltmann, a spokeswoman for the company acknowledged in an e-mail that they were aware of the problems, "We are aware of reports of people driving while sleepwalking, and those reports have been provided to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as part of our ongoing post marketing evaluation about the safety of our products."

In response, the FDA said that the drug already carried warnings of problems when used with alcohol. It also warns that there have been cases of sleepwalking and hallucinations. "People should be aware of that," said FDA spokeswoman, Susan Cruzan.

Laura Liddicoat, a forensic toxicologist who tested 2,300 impaired drivers in Wisconsin said that the problem would not have come about if the users were using the drug as directed, "Ambien has a very short half life and a quick elimination period.

If it's taken as directed, there will be no drug left in the blood after eight hours of sleep, or at least a very low amount of the drug, so therefore it really should not be seen in drivers," Liddicoat said, adding that this meant drivers or indeed people were taking on the drug at times that they were not meant to. "The driving was so bizarre - such as driving on the opposite side of the road, having head-on collisions. Simply bizarre behavior - it wasn't simply weaving in the lane," she said about the cases examined by her office.

Ambien has netted in $2.2 billion in sales and is the most popular sleeping pill with 26.6 million prescriptions last year.