White-collar workers heavy benzos users

White-collar workers and welfare recipients are the heaviest users of benzodiazepines — used to treat anxiety and insomnia.

Fiona Weldon, clinical director at the Rutland Centre, the country’s largest private centre for treatment of addiction, said she was “not remotely surprised” to see senior managers, top civil servants, and other highly ranked professionals when it came to sedatives or tranquillisers use.

“Obviously, the recession has created a lot more stress for professionals, linked to performance and financial demands or the pressures of keeping a business afloat,” said Dr Weldon. “It’s very competitive out there and the reflection of that is a lot of stress in people’s lives, more anxiety, more depression, more people going to GPs for prescriptions.