Triazolam (Hansard, 27 April 1982)

§ Mr. Ashley

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) whether there has been liaison between his Department and the Netherlands national adverse reaction monitoring centre and the Netherlands Ministry of Health regarding the drug triazolam (Halcion); whether the Committee on Safety of Medicines has been given details of the adverse reaction reports which led to the banning of Halcion in the Netherlands; whether the Committee on Safety of Medicines has been told of the proportion of cases, for which there was an adverse reaction report, which involved dosage at levels recommended in Great Britain; and, if so, what was the proportion;

(2) how often and in what way the Committee on Safety of Medicines has given advice regarding dosage levels for the drug triazolam (Halcion);

(3) if he will make a statement regarding the Committee on Safety of Medicines view of the balance of risk and advantage involved in the use of the drug triazolam (Halcion);

(4) for how long the drug triazolam (Halcion) has been available on the British market; how many yellow card adverse reaction reports have been received by the Committee on Safety of Medicines during this period; whether there is any evidence of a higher notification rate for this drug than for other comparable hypnotics; and what type of adverse reactions possibly due to the drug have been reported;

(5) whether the Committee on Safety of Medicines has consulted with the American Food and Drug Association regarding the balance of risk and advantage involved in the use of the drug triazolam (Halcion); and whether the drug is available on the American market;

(6) whether the Committee on Safety of Medicines has received any reports of adverse reactions following withdrawal of the drug triazolam (Halcion);

(7) what response there was to the request by the Committee on Safety of Medicnes in the February 1981 edition of "Current Problems" for doctors to inform it of suspected adverse reaction to triazolam (Halcion) and to other benzodiazepines;

(8) whether the Committee on Safety of Medicines has made a specific study of the drug triazolam (Halcion); if so, what research studies were considered; what was the number of cases and controls in each study; and what was the conclusion of the studies.