Concern at €60m bill for sedatives on prescription

MORE than €60 million was spent on sleeping tablets, anxiety drugs and tranquillising psychiatric medication in 2008, representing a sharp rise.

HSE figures obtained by the Irish Examiner reveal the number of prescriptions written for the pills topped 4.2 million, making the combined category the highest frequently prescribed medicines, followed by aspirin on 2.5m prescriptions.

The drugs were prescribed under the Government-funded General Medical Scheme (GMS), Drug Payment Scheme and Long-Term Illness schemes.