Hundreds of thousands of people who take sleeping pills just twice a month are nearly four times more likely to die prematurely, according to new research.
The researchers warned that the findings raised serious questions about the safety of sleeping tablets and said people should consider using therapeutic treatments instead.
People taking higher doses of commonly-prescribed prescription drugs are almost five times more likely to die and a third more likely to develop cancer.
The study, published in the journal BMJ Open, analysed 10,500 people taking a wide-range of sleeping pills, including tamazepam and diazepam. They compared people taking sleeping tablets with those who were not using the drugs but had a similar lifestyle and health conditions.
Source: Rebecca Smith, Irish Independent, 28/02/2012
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