Pfizer Inc.’s once promising anti-smoking drug Chantix received another blow Wednesday after a nonprofit group’s report about serious physical side effects prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to ban the drug’s use by pilots and air traffic controllers.

The report, from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, points out hundreds of serious problems reported since the popular drug was approved in May 2006, including vision and heart problems, dizziness, loss of consciousness, seizures, and abnormal spasms and movements.

A study out of the New England Journal of Medicine finds that people suffering from migraines and depression need to be careful when mixing medication for the two.

Researchers from Georgetown University and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration detailed 11 cases of serotonin syndrome associated with the use of triptans.

This syndrome happens when more than one medication is taken that affects the level of serotonin. Symptoms include mental status changes, overactive reflexes, muscle spasms, fever, heavy sweating, nausea, nausea or vomiting.

Those especially at risk are people who take a class of medications known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as Zoloft, Paxil, Lexapro and Prozac, along with migraine medications such as Imitrex, Zomig, Maxalt, Axert and Frova.

American children take anti-psychotic medicines at about six times the rate of children in the United Kingdom, according to a comparison based on a new U.K. study.

Does it mean U.S. kids are being over-treated? Or that U.K. children are being under-treated?

Experts say that’s almost beside the point, because use is rising on both sides of the Atlantic. And with scant long-term safety data, it’s likely the drugs are being over-prescribed for both U.S. and U.K. children, research suggests.

Among the most commonly used drugs were those to treat autism and hyperactivity.

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With trace amounts of pharmaceuticals showing up in the drinking water of major cities, authorities are encouraging consumers around the Great Lakes to drop off leftover and expired medicine at collection centers.

A five-month inquiry by the AP National Investigative Team disclosed the presence of trace concentrations of such things as antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones in the drinking water of at least 24 major metropolitan areas.

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