Medics urge curbs on sleeping pills

The prescription of sleeping pills and tranquillisers should be reduced and carefully monitored because of the dangers of addiction and dependency, a group of health professionals were saying Wednesday. The alliance, which includes the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), the Department of Health and the Royal College of Psychiatrists, is calling on doctors to prescribe drugs like the benzodiazepine Valium only under very particular circumstances, The Times newspaper said. In a statement it asks that doctors and patients agree on the length of a course of sleeping pills or tranquillisers, and that such use should be reviewed regularly. It also demands that patients be made aware of the possible harm caused by long-term use, and calls for greater support for people when they stop using medication to combat the risk of prolonged withdrawal symptoms. The group, which also includes the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse, believes the same level of care should also be applied to people taking painkillers that can be bought without a prescription. According to the newspaper a survey by MPs found most provided no specialist support for addicts, leaving them reliant on services for users of illegal drugs such as heroin or cocaine. Almost 18 million prescriptions for benzodiazepines and Z-drugs - tranquillisers with similar long-term effects - are written every year in the UK, The Times said. Up to one million people use such medication regularly, despite guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence that benzodiazepines should be used for no more than four weeks.