A new study says sleeping pill consumption by Americans has soared, raising concerns among health experts.
The report by IMS Health, a Fairfield, Conn.-based provider of information solutions to healthcare industries, says about 42 million sleeping pill prescriptions were filled in 2005, up 60 percent from 2000.
The report says usage has jumped because people are overworked in an environment of frenetic workdays. People also are being told through relentless advertising about the safety of these pills with minimal side effects.
But some experts say the drugs are being oversubscribed without enough regard to the implications of long-term use, reports The New York Times. The experts also fear doctors may be ignoring other conditions such as depression which causes sleeplessness.
Newer brands of sleeping pills may not have the same risk of dependence as older ones like barbiturates, but researchers warn about the "next day" effect of continued sleepiness after waking from a drug-induced slumber.
A U.S. Food and Drug Administration spokeswoman says she is not aware of any unusual number of complaints with the drugs.
© Copyright 2006 by United Press International
