title: [Impacts of the new flunitrazepam regulations on the consumption of hypnotics].
abstract: The frequent misuse of flunitrazepam has led the French drug agency (AFSSAPS [Agence française de sécurité sanitaire des produits de santé]) to subject this agent to the regulatory regime for drugs known to produce dependency; this drug may now be prescribed for no more than 14 days, is available only on an "ordonnance sécurisée" (prescribing and dispensing subject to stupefacient regulations), and pharmacists must dispense no more than 7 days' supply. We identified, in a French medical-care database, 738 patients who had received at least one flunitrazepam prescription in January 2001, and monitored the hypnotics delivered to this cohort over a period of 8 months. Sixty-nine percent of the patients had replaced flunitrazepam by another hypnotic without any further change. The most surprising result of our survey was the discovery that nearly half of the selected patients stopped using hypnotics during the review period. Although many hypotheses can be offered to account for this phenomenon, it seems that many consumers halted their consumption of flunitrazepam as a result of the new regulatory regime.
authors.affiliation: CEIP CHRU Hôtel-Dieu, Nantes, France.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Victorri-Vigneau
authors.forename: Gilles
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Basset
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bourin
authors.forename: Pascale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jolliet
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D062787:Drug Overdose; D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000639:trends; D005260:Female; D005445:Flunitrazepam / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007880:Legislation, Drug; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007319:Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*
chemical_list: D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives; D005445:Flunitrazepam