All Blacks coach Steve Hansen says sleeping pills abuse is on the rise
All Blacks coach is alarmed over players mixing of medication with alcohol and energy drinks
Sleeping pill abuse is emerging as a major problem among elite athletes and rugby union cannot afford to ignore the issue, All Blacks coach Steve Hansen warned on Monday.
Hansen was speaking after the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) revealed last week that All Blacks Cory Jane and Israel Dagg took prescription sleeping pills while on a night out in Auckland during the 2011 World Cup.
He said such behaviour was of particular concern when the pills were mixed with energy drinks - a combination that reportedly achieves an amphetamine-like high without breaching doping rules.
The sleeping pills and the fizzy drink and the alcohol, if you keep continually doing it, is going to be harmful
"The sleeping pills and the fizzy drink and the alcohol, if you keep continually doing it, is going to be harmful," Hansen told domestic radio.
"Long term it's not going to be a great thing for the athlete, and short term it can also create one or two problems with how they behave. That's not the way the All Blacks want to live."
Australia's National Rugby League said last week that it was introducing tests for sleeping pills amid rising concerns about their abuse.
The move followed warnings issued to several New Zealand players about mixing sleeping pills and energy drinks at last year's Rugby League World Cup in England, where the Kiwis reached the final only to go down 34-2 in a lacklustre display.
In addition, Australian swimming great Grant Hackett sought treatment last month for addiction to sleeping medication Stilnox.