Health News
Prescription Sleep Remedies
March 1, 2006
Is America becoming a sleepless nation? According to today's article in the SF Chronicle by David Lazarus, Americans need a lot of help getting to sleep. A record 43 million sleeping-pill prescriptions were filled in the country last year, resulting in $2 billion in sales. Some estimates forecast sales of sleeping-pills could rise to $5 billion in the next four years.
Some of the most startling figures come when looking at sleeping-pill prescriptions for children. The use of sleeping-pills among children between the ages of 10 and 19 jumped 85 percent between 2000 and 2004. For adults, the use of sleeping pills has doubled between 2000 and 2004.
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