Risk to Health Posed by Prescription Sleeping Medications

The motion

That the Parliament notes with concern the growing number of studies that show that prescription sleeping medication can be detrimental to health and lead to an increased risk of life-threatening illnesses; understands that zolpidem, a sedative primarily used for the treatment of insomnia, induces a sedative state that is of lower quality than natural sleep and can have undesirable side effects such as grogginess, forgetfulness and slowed reaction times; recognises the findings of what it considers the controversial and alarming study conducted by Dr Daniel Kripke in 2012, which was published in the British Medical Journal, which found that individuals who use prescription sleeping medications are significantly more likely to die and develop cancer than those who do not; notes that this study, which examined 10,000 patients using either zolpidem or temazepam over a two-and-a-half-year period, found that those taking sleeping pills were 4.6 times more likely to die over that period than those who did not using sleeping pills in a double-blind controlled trial; further notes that, while the risk of death scaled with the frequency of use, even those who only consumed 0.5 to 18 sleeping pills per year were still 3.6 times more likely to die than those who took none at all; considers that cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) is proven to be a more effective first-line treatment for insomnia than sleeping pills as it equips patients with techniques to break bad sleep habits, address anxieties and improve sleep hygiene; understands that, while the data on the number of sleeping medications prescribed and the number of patients diagnosed with sleep disorders is not stored centrally by the Scottish Government, in 2016-17 97,448 items of zolpidem were dispensed at a total cost of £170,866.68, 135,563 items of temazepam were dispensed at a total cost of £695,297.67 and 6,759 items of modafinil were dispensed at a total cost of £243,997.39, and therefore encourages the Scottish Government to assess the prevalence of prescription sleeping medication dispensed in Scotland, the impact on health and encourages a move towards a CBT-based model for the treatment of sleep disorders to mitigate the potential risk to public health posed by prescription sleep pills.

No recorded vote on this motion. Most motions are never debated, and many that are debated are agreed without a division. Vote records are published from 2011.

SNP 8

Party shown is each supporter’s party when the motion was published.

No contribution in the Official Report cites S5M-12914 by reference.