"Americans may rely too heavily on sleeping pills" when there are safer options

Americans with insomnia may be relying too heavily on sleeping pills instead of trying safer non-drug remedies, according to a new report from Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs, which recommends that consumers who take sleeping pills do so for the shortest period possible because of the risk of side effects and misuse.

The September 2006 issue of Consumer Reports finds that, in 2005, use of sleeping drugs in the USA is generally correlated to the growth in direct-to-consumer advertising of sleep medications. Pharmacists filled 43 million prescriptions for sleep drugs in 2005, a 32% rise from 2001. Prescription insomnia medications brought pharmaceutical companies more than $2.7 billion during 2005, according to the report.

The four newer medicines to treat insomnia - Ambien (zolpidem) and Ambien CR, Lunesta (eszopiclone), Sonata (zaleplon) and Rozerem (ramelteon) - are effective at helping people get to sleep and stay asleep, but not necessarily better than older, less-expensive drugs for many who need a sleep aid for a night or two, the report found. Those include non-prescription products, such as Nytol and Tylenol PM, that contain antihistamines, or older prescription sedatives known as benzodiazepines, such as Dalmane (flurazepam) or Restoril (temazepam). The report selected Ambien as a Best Buy, based primarily on the fact that it is slated to become available as a generic in October. It says that 15 doses of Ambien now cost around $58 but, when it becomes generic, that price is expected to fall 50%-70%.