Gallant, 71, lives in New Brunswick, which has the highest rate in Canada of sleeping pill use among seniors. Overall, Atlantic Canada has higher rates of sleeping pill use, while Saskatchewan has the lowest rate in the country at four per cent. Gardner said sleeping pills "cloak" the problem instead of fixing it. (Eric Woolliscroft/CBC)He also said, when asked, physicians regularly say they are uncomfortable prescribing sleeping pills, especially for older people, but sometimes feel stuck. Gardner, a pharmacist and professor of psychiatry at Dalhousie University, has launched a study in New Brunswick to help provide alternatives to sleeping pills.

Source: CBC News February 15, 2021 09:00 UTC