Kripke D F
South Med J. 1983 May;76(5):632-6. doi: 10.1097/00007611-198305000-00025.
In the United States every year the total costs of giving sleeping pills can be estimated at $500 million to $1 billion. Many if not most of the prescriptions are inappropriate. Sleeping pill use, associated with a 50% increase in overall mortality, is especially dangerous for older people, who have a high risk of sleep apnea. There is virtually no evidence that sleeping pills are effective with prolonged usage and no evidence for life-preserving benefits. Excessive use of sleeping pills should be discouraged with a tax of 4 per pill. Revenues from the tax should fund new research to determine which sleeping pills are safest and when alternative treatments are safer.
在美国，每年用于安眠药的总费用估计在5亿美元到10亿美元之间。许多（如果不是大多数）处方都是不恰当的。使用安眠药会使总体死亡率增加50%，对患有睡眠呼吸暂停高风险的老年人尤其危险。几乎没有证据表明安眠药长期使用有效，也没有证据表明其具有挽救生命的益处。应通过每片药征收4美元的税来抑制安眠药的过度使用。税收收入应资助新的研究，以确定哪些安眠药最安全，以及何时替代疗法更安全。
