People all over New Jersey suffer from sleep disorders. Some can’t fall asleep, some toss and turn, and others wake up in the middle of the night. All of these factors might lead a person to ask their doctor for sleeping pills.
Many of us have heard of the potential dangers of these medications such as sleep walking or sleep driving, but many people might not be aware of other issues associated with these popular medications. These potentially dangerous medications may be causing more than just New Jersey sleep driving. A new study suggests those who take sleeping pills may be at an increase risk of early death.
When people go to their doctors for legitimate medical issues, they expect that those doctors have confidence in what they prescribe and have looked into the drugs they write prescriptions for. Drug manufacturers also share a responsibility to make sure the medications they make are safe for consumers and don’t have long-term side-effects without properly warning people who might use them.
The study shows that people who take these pills are four times more likely to be at risk for an early death. Even those who only take small amounts of the sleeping pills over the course of a year saw an increased risk. The study also found the pills may increase a person’s risk for cancer.
These less known side-effects of drugs are usually not told to patients, which means they aren’t able to make an informed decision as to whether to take the prescription medications or not.
Source: ABC News, “Sleeping Pills Linked to Almost Fourfold Increase in Death Risk,” Lara Salahi, Feb. 27, 2012
