Sleeping pills and minor tranquillisers

Explains what sleeping pills and minor tranquillisers are used for, how the medication works, possible side effects and information about withdrawal.

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Non-benzodiazepine anti-anxiety medication

This page has information about non-benzodiazepine medications that you may be offered to treat anxiety. See our page on benzodiazepines for information about benzodiazepine anti-anxiety medications.

The table below allows you to compare these drugs by different factors. Some of these drugs have more than one name. You might know a drug by its generic name or its trade name. See our page on drug names for more information.

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Generic name	Trade names (UK)	Forms available	Half-life	Dietary considerations
buspirone	none	tablets	2 to 11 hours	contains lactose avoid grapefruit juice
pregabalin	Alzain, Axalid, Lecaent, Lyrica	capsules liquid	about 6.3 hours	capsules contain gelatin