A little bit of misinformation here.
Before we get into addiction, we need to separate "Tolerance", "Dependence", and "Addiction". Tolerance is the term that describes a regulation of receptors so that an increased dose is required for a similar effect as time goes on. Dependence is a term for when a person requires a medication to maintain normal function because lack of it causes negative symptoms (withdrawals for example). Addiction is a mental illness where people do things that affect their life negatively in order to get something they need (alcoholism, etc). One of these phenomenon does not necessarily lead to another.
Zopiclone and Ativan are both potentially addictive, can cause dependence and you build tolerance to then with frequent use. They both essentially work on the same receptors causing the same effects and therefore have similar size effect profiles. Zopiclone's claim to fame when it was first available was that it was non habit forming, yet as effective as Ativan etc for sleep.
It is the number one drug dispensed in my pharmacy and both Alberta and BC are sending doctors to remedial addiction training as both provinces are seeing abuse.
If used as a short term solution to regain regular sleep patterns it's safe and effective. It should not be used for chronic insomnia every night (even though that's almost exclusively how it's used). If your doctor gives you a small supply, I wouldn't worry about addiction
|