《TAIPEI TIMES》Pharmacists warn on drugs and driving

DRIVER ALERT: Taipei City Hospital last year started classifying medications based on how they can affect a person’s ability to drive as part of a public education campaign

By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter

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About 300 people die per year as a result of someone driving after taking medication, the Federation of Taiwan Pharmacists Associations said yesterday, urging people to avoid driving after taking drugs.

Traffic accidents were the eighth-leading cause of death in Taiwan last year, and among the more than 3,000 people who died in traffic accidents last year, an estimated 10 percent of them died as a result of someone driving under the influence of drugs, federation chairman Huang Jin-shun （黃金舜） said.

Many people are aware of the risks of driving after consuming alcohol, but the risk of driving after taking medications is less known by the general public, Huang said, adding that they can alter a person’s mental state and reaction time, seriously affecting their ability to drive.

A poll found that about 35 percent of drivers surveyed said they take at least one type of drug weekly that could affect their ability to drive, he said.

About 6 million people in Taiwan regularly take medications, and many of them also often drive afterward, he said.

A survey by the federation and the hospital showed that the most common drugs taken before driving that resulted in a traffic incident are antihypertensive drugs, followed by sleeping pills and muscle relaxants, Taipei City Hospital clinical pharmacy head Pao Jiunn-bey （鮑俊蓓） said.

The hospital last year began promoting awareness of driving after taking drugs, Taipei City Hospital Department of Pharmacy director Wu Su-jhen （吳淑娟） said.

It classified drugs into four levels according to their possible effect on driving, starting with level 0, which are drugs that do not affect driving, Wu said.

People taking level 1 drugs — such as antihypertensives, painkillers, codeine （less than 20mg）, and cough and cold remedies — should be cautious and carefully read the usage instructions before driving.

For level 2 drugs, people should “be very careful” and ask a healthcare professional for advice if they need to drive after taking them. They include anti-depressants, anesthetics, antispasmodics and certain hypoglycemic drugs.

Level 3 drugs are considered dangerous and should be avoided before driving, or only taken after an assessment by healthcare professionals. They include certain types of antipsychotics, sleeping pills, nonbenzodiazepines （also known as Z-drugs）, most anxiolytics, mydriatics and certain types of muscle relaxants.

Some European countries require pharmacies to print warning labels on drugs and ask pharmacists to inform people about the risks of driving after taking them, the federation said.

Taipei City Hospital superintendent Hsiao Sheng-huang （蕭勝煌） said it is more difficult to charge people on medication involved in a traffic incident, as drug testing is not as easy as testing for alcohol as metabolism rates vary per person.

The federation and the hospital said it would continue to train pharmacists to carefully instruct patients about the risks of driving after taking drugs.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES