Pharma nation

In the New York Times yesterday is an article about the major jump in sleeping pills among young adults.

Use of sleeping pills nearly tripled among young and college-aged adults between 1998 and 2006, according to an analysis of prescription drug claims from a large group of employers.

While sleeping pills are taken more often by adults in their mid-20s to mid-40s, the increase in use was most dramatic among adults ages 18 to 24, according to a new analysis by Thomson Reuters, rising from 599 users per 100,000 in 1998 to 1,524 users per 100,000 in 2006. The report surveyed use of sleep medications only among adults under age 45.

“What’s surprising is how rapidly this use is growing among the young,” said William Marder, senior vice president and general manager for the health care business of Thomson Reuters and one of the authors of the study. “It’s pretty rapid growth for a group that is generally not one of [the] high-utilizers.”

The most popular sleeping pills were the non-benzodiazepine hypnotics Ambien CR and Lunesta. Their popularity may be increasing among younger adults because these drugs are not believed to carry the same risk of dependence as older medications, Mr. Marder said, although side effects such as next-day sleepiness or, more rarely, sleepwalking have been reported. (emphasis mine–read the rest here)

That Ambien and Lunesta are not addictive is BULLSHIT once again. I see people struggling on these meds especially in benzo groups. I don’t know enough about pharmacology but I do know that they are indeed chemically related to benzos even if not exactly benzos.

Everyone is seeking the chemical cure. It’s truly insane. Life is out of balance in this culture and on this planet. We need radical, radical changes and we have to start with ourselves. A culture that depends on drugs to function mentally cannot survive. I really believe that.

Update: Oddly enough I posted this and then wandered over to Furious Seasons, where Philip reports on a story of a man who dies sleep walking on Ambien in the freezing cold.

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One thought on “Pharma nation”

Andy Alt says:

January 16, 2009 at 11:21 am

I think you’re right. Look at how much physical activity people got 100 years ago. And working second or third shift is a bit unnatural. Yeah, it’s all wrong. We’re screwing ourselves for the sake of convenience and luxury. It’s backfiring.

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