NEWS: The Age - 21/01/08 'Stilnox maker to fight morphine-level rating'

[hoptis]

Stilnox maker to fight morphine-level rating
January 21, 2008 - 4:10PM

The manufacturer of a sleeping tablet that triggered bizarre side-effects in Australians says it will fight moves to have the controversial drug moved to a tougher class.

A federal government committee will meet next month to decide whether Stilnox should be changed to schedule 8 status to strictly monitor who is accessing it.

This change would bring the popular medication into line with controlled drugs like morphine, narcotics and amphetamines, which are deemed vulnerable to addiction or abuse.

It would require doctors to fill out extra paperwork and pharmacists to keep comprehensive records of who they dispense to.

The call comes in the wake of a spate of reports from a national hotline of Stilnox users crashing cars, having sex, fighting and binge-eating from the fridge while apparently asleep.

The manufacturer Sanofi-Aventis today said the change being considered by the National Drugs and Poisons Schedule Committee (NDPSC) was unwarranted and would be strongly opposed.

"Sanofi-Aventis has not been notified as to the grounds upon which such an application has been made," a company spokesman said.

"However, we are of the view that any change to the scheduling is unwarranted and not in the best interests of patients and prescribers, and a submission will be made to the NDPSC accordingly."

The proposal is the latest to limit scope of the drug. Changes instigated by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) last November limited pack size to a maximum of 14 pills.

Stilnox packs now also carry extra warnings of possible side-effects "including rage reactions, worsened insomnia, confusion, agitation, hallucinations and other forms of unwanted behaviour", the TGA said.

A spokeswoman for the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, Dr Geraldine Moses, said up-scheduling of Stilnox was seen as a good move.

"Rescheduling is an effective way of getting people to take this drug seriously," said Dr Moses, who also heads the Adverse Medicine Events Line, which fielded more than 500 calls reporting Stilnox side-effects last year.

"It instantly changes the way the drug is handled and therefore instantly tells people this drug has safety issues rather than hoping and praying that they will read the product information."

The change will be considered at the February 19 meeting of the NDPSC.

AAP

The Age

 

[stealthtrucker]

lol. That's ridiculous.

Stilnox as schedule 8? Why bother?. Why not simply just get rid of it altogether.

Everyone knows it's a shitty sleeping aid + it can't REALLY (come on really people) be abused.

They should educate doctors about it more than they have and use it not as a first line sleeping aid (which is what they tried to do to start phasing out proper benzos) but instead a last resort if patients don't respond to other treatments.

If someone wants a shitty drug like stilnox and refuse valium or temaze or alprazolam before it then I say let them have it.

 

[mcwally]

yeh i saw that in the SMH, does suck cause i have a soft spot for the stuff

IMO it is a great sleep aid is fast acting with minimal hangover effect due to its short half life, and importantly its not physically addictive like the benzos.

However, any sleeping aid is potentially addictive ofcourse, as are any other phsycological effects it can have. Recreationally it is sweet mildy euphoric, reduces inhibitions and relaxing - nothing mindblowing but nice at reasonable doses.

The reason for the alarm is the amnesia it can cause and the actions some people can perform on it while they are medically asleep My doc is hesitant to prescribe it for me cause one of his patients has taken it, forgot he had taken it then had another and was messed up and ended up falling down his stairs and breaking his back or neck cant remember which.

A close friend of mines friend (who i didnt know) had downed a pill and drinks and finally a stilnox and fell off his high rise apartment's balcony to his death (Sydney). Not a nice scenario, he wasnt suicidal but obviously with other substances in the mix you cant blame just the stilnox and accidents do happen.

So i got mixed feelings about it obviously, it just seems to hit hard and quick on some people particularly after alcohol then they do stupid shit like sleep drive or whatever with no recollection of it.

But dam I still dont wanna have it harder for me to get lol
duno maybe they will only prescribe the slow release ones or something

 

[Teddles]

If they wanted to decrease use the committee should remove it from the PBS not up it's schedule. I don't think it will fit the schedule's guidelines anyway, not like Futnizapam did when that went up to a S8.

 

[Mr Blonde]

Lol at the headline though; Stilnox comparable to morphine 8)

 

[Splatt]

Teddles: sorry I misunderstood?
did you say stilnox is currently pbs?
i always pay full price for it

 

[stealthtrucker]

LOL

That's what they should do, put the price of it up to XXX a packet of 20. harharharhar!!

[Edit- Romoved price- lil angel15]

 

[vanth]

I'm pretty sure its pbs

 

[Jabberwocky]

when i had scripts for it it was always full price, thats why i asked to be put on temazepam then valium. im pretty certain its not on pbs

[Edit- Romoved price- lil angel15]

 

[mcwally]

def not pbs

 

[lil angel15]

Guys please don't post prices.

 

[Splatt]

Its never been PBS. and it probably wont be for a long time.

doctors are now pushing time release 12.5mg ones which suck ass. they dont knock you out and you feel mote hungover when you wake up... you generally end up eating 2 chewed up! to get the knock out effect of one or one and a half 10mg non controll-released.

so now 12.5mg is out and becom,ing more popular and pushed, they cant even have cheaper versions for another 4 years or so whatever the law is.