Jan. 14, 2013
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Thursday that they would be requiring manufacturers of sleep aid medications, such as Ambien, to reduce the amount of active ingredient in each dose. Colorado’s 9 News reports the change is being made due to a high risk of accidents and injuries associated with the drugs.
The article reported that a study performed at Ohio University concluded that those using sleep medications at current dosages suffered effects of drowsiness after waking up from a night of after using a sleep aid. Researchers found this drowsiness was associated with a higher risk of being involved in a Car Accident when test subjects were asked to operate a driving simulator after taking the drugs.
These conclusions led the FDA to recommend the dosages of sleep medications be cut in half. Now, the medications will be offered in five-milligram increments rather than ten-milligram doses. Also, extended-release formulas of the drugs will be slashed from 12.5-milligrams to 6.25-milligram doses.
Patients using sleep aids have been instructed to continue taking the dose they are prescribed until speaking with their doctor.
The Denver Personal Injury Lawyers with McDivitt Law Firm are hopeful the changes in dosage will be successful in reducing the chances of a person being injured due to the side effects associated with these medications.
