A YOUNG mother who says her life has been ruined after taking a controversial anti-smoking pill is calling for it to be banned.

Five days after taking the pill Zyban, 25-a-day smoker Amanda Sinclair, 25, collapsed in front of her two young children.

She now suffers regular and severe epileptic-type fits, even though there there is no family history of the condition.

There is growing concern about adverse side-effects from Zyban, also known as bupropion, which has helped about 1.5 million Americans to quit smoking.

The most recent UK figures show an estimated 419,000 smokers have been prescribed the drug since last June.

While manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline says Zyban is safe, it has been linked to at least 37 deaths and 5,350 reported adverse reactions.

Recently, the Department of Health warned GPs not to prescribe the drug to people with a history of seizures.

During Amanda's first attack, she fell as she was crossing the road in Thornley, near her home in Wheatley Hill, County Durham. It left her with three smashed teeth and she needed eight stitches to her chin.

As their mother choked on her own blood, her terrified children knocked on doors asking for help.

Luckily, a passer-by got to her within seconds and managed to clear her airways.

Following hospital tests, she has been advised not to be left alone at any time.

"I think it is ridiculous that they are still handing out this drug to people," said Amanda, whose boyfriend, Jason Higgins, has given up his job to look after her.

She has been put on anti-seizure drugs and is waiting to be referred to a specialist centre in Newcastle where she will undergo a brain scan.

Her mother, Susan Sinclair, who lives nearby, called for Zyban to be taken off the market until researchers could prove that it was harmless.

"My daughter was fit and healthy before she started taking this drug, but now the doctors say she has to be on medication for the rest of her life. I am blaming Zyban for this," she said.

Concerned that the drug could affect others, Amanda contacted the Manchester-based medical negligence specialists, Alexander Harris.

Clair Treloar, spokeswoman for Alexander Harris, said that more than 30 people had contacted the firm after suffering what they believed were adverse side-effects from taking Zyban.

Most were from the North of England, including ambulance driver Tina France, 31, of Altrincham, Cheshire, who claims Zyban made her crash during a 999 call.

She had been taking Zyban for 12 days when she blacked out at the wheel of her ambulance.

Alexander Harris is also in touch with the family of Kerry Weston, 21, a flight attendant found dead in her Kenyan hotel room, two weeks after starting to take Zyban. She had mixed the anti-smoking pill with anti-malarial medication.

Zyban works by changing chemicals in the brain to prevent nicotine addiction. Side-effects include headaches, stomach upsets and skin rashes.

GlaxoSmithKline has said adverse reactions are not necessarily caused by Zyban alone and the drug is an effective way of helping smokers to quit.

A Department of Health spokesman said the Committee on Safety in Medicines is continuing to monitor the safety of Zyban.

* To contact Alexander Harris, call 08080 774477.