Sleeping tablets - No quick fix for stress

According to an alarming report from the HSE the availability of sleeping tablets has reached record levels and are now almost as commonplace as drugs for cholesterol and diabetes.

More people are obviously stressed due to financial problems. As a result, relationships are under strain and there has been a worrying increase in suicides.

Concern was voiced in these columns earlier this year over the high use of sedatives in psychiatric hospitals. Worryingly, a drug associated with violent behaviour and suicide was still being prescribed in 2008 to under 16-year-olds.