COMMON ANTI-ANXIETY drugs have been identified as a factor in 31% of all drug-related deaths, according to a new report.

The Health Research Board report says that the number of people presenting for treatment and people dying as a result of misusing the sedative benzodiazepine has risen by 63% between 2003 and 2008.

Benzodiazepines are prescription drugs used to treat anxiety, agitation, insomnia and seizures.

There is a risk of overuse, abuse and dependence when they are used over longer periods, although they are safe for short-term use, the Irish Examiner reports.

Although the number of people reporting benzodiazepine as their main problem drug is low at 167 in 2008, that figure represents a 120% increase since 2003. Almost all deaths where benzodiazepine was implicated involved the use of more than one substance, most frequently alcohol and opiates.

Senior HRB researcher Dr Suzi Lyons said: “There also needs to be a greater awareness among prescribers and users of the potentially fatal effects of benzodiazepines when used with other substances”.

The majority of cases, two thirds (64%), reported using benzodiazepines on a daily basis. When the figures were analysed by gender and age, 70% of all cases starting treatment between 2003 and 2008 were men.

The director of Merchants Quay Ireland, Tony Geoghegan, said there was a huge black market for benzodiazepines because of a shortage of opiates and drug users tend to mix drugs.