06/04/2008- A husband and daughter go missing for nearly two days and the wife says a drug used to help people quit smoking could be to blame.

Susan Marino says her husband was taking the drug, Chantix. That drug's warning label states it might cause neuro-psychiatric symptoms, including changes in behavior, agitation, depression, and suicidal behavior.

Doctors aren't sure what happened, but Susan says her husband went missing after becoming disoriented and believes it correlates with him trying to quit smoking using Chantix.

Susan says her husband, Michael Marino, dropped her off at her doctor's office in Bradenton, Thursday morning, and never returned to pick her up.

At the time, Michael had their eight-year-old daughter Lena, with him in the car. Police found the two early Saturday morning off I-4 near Orlando.

According to police, Michael appeared disoriented. Their daughter, Lena, was okay. Susan says the computer on the car indicated he had driven for 44 hours and logged 1,800 miles, spending more than $500 on gas.

She says Michael has been taking Chantix for the past two weeks. A few days after he started the medication to quit smoking, some of his coworkers reportedly say he started acting strange and didn't seem like himself.

Michael was admitted to Physicians Regional Medical Center and after a string of tests his wife reports no signs of an underlying medical problem such as a stroke, which is why she believes it is related to his medication, Chantix.

A pharmacist tells WINK News although the FDA has investigated some claims and the company has a warning on the package, it's not safe to assume that's why Michael became disoriented and confused.

He says some studies show those symptoms can occur with anyone who is trying to quit smoking, not just those on cessation drugs like Chantix.