FDA Orders ‘Black Box’ Warning For Sleep Aids

WASHINGTON – The Food and Drug Administration is strengthening warnings about some commonly used sleep aids.

Sleeping pills marketed under the names Lunesta, Sonata and Ambien, will require new black-box warnings for potentially dangerous side-effects.

There have been reports of rare, but, serious injuries and deaths resulting from sleepwalking, sleep-driving and other complex behaviors by people who took the popular drugs.

The FDA said 20-deaths have been blamed on the pill

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said some four-percent of adults have used prescription sleep aids in the past month.