Call to probe sudden death links to drug use

A PSYCHIATRIST has said that questions need to be asked about why mood altering and anti-depressant drugs are found in the blood of 40% of the country’s sudden deaths.

An estimated 1,100 people who died last year — and whose death was not due to natural causes — were taking anti-anxiety or anti-psychotic medication.

The most commonly found drug was valium (diazepam) which was present in 658 of the samples taken in 2006. Another was flurazepam, a sleeping tablet, generically known as Dalmane.