The stress of earthquakes triggered many Cantabrians to turn to prescription sleep aids, but what was intended as a short term solution has become long term for some, reports Stuff.co.nz.
More than 30,000 Cantabrians are still using pills to help them get to sleep more than four years since the earthquakes began.
Ministry of Health figures show the number of people taking therapeutic group level two sedatives and hypnotics have gone up 15.6 per cent since 2009.
In the past three years, numbers have dropped by 8 per cent but remain high.
