Some users clarifies of Pfizer's air arena unravels Viagra and other drugs to treat erectile dysfunction are taking them not out of medical need but to facilitate certain lifestyles. Doctors are often too busy to argue with patients or to spend much time diagnosing non-life-threatening conditions such as insomnia, medical experts said. "Doctors have only a few minutes with most of their patients, and they will usually find the path of least resistance, especially if a drug probably won't do much harm and may do some good," said Larry Levitt, a spokesman for Kaiser Family Foundation, which studied the link between advertising and prescription-drug sales. The study found that each additional dollar spent in consumer advertising yielded $4. 20 in drug sales. That adds to the country's healthcare bill, critics say. Americans spend about $190 billion in prescription medicines a year, according to Kaiser. It is only about a tenth of the entire healthcare bill, but it is increasing faster than other categories, such as physician and hospital bills. According to Consumer Reports, seven doses of Rozerem cost $24 on average. Other sleeping pills were within similar price ranges: $25 for King Pharmaceuticals Inc. 's Sonata and $30 for Sepracor Inc. 's Lunesta. Some patients swear by the pills. Emily Arms, 43, of Westchester was a new mom and starting as an assistant professor of education at Loyola Marymount University two years ago.

After waking twice a night to feed her baby, her body stayed on the clock even after her daughter slept through the night. She said her doctor suggested cutting caffeine and over-the-counter medicines, to no avail. Her doctor prescribed Ambien and she used it for almost a year . She noticed no side effects. "For me, it was a miracle drug," Arms said. But some doctors caution that any prescription drug carries risks arenas . They point to Merck & Co. 's Vioxx, a once-heavily advertised arthritis pain medicine that was pulled off the market in 2004 after it was linked to heart attacks. In the case of sleeping aids, there have been reports of memory loss and sleepwalking in Ambien takers. The Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs project cautions that the safety and efficacy of the new generation of sleeping aids are still being debated The study can be found at consumerreports. org/health. barack at wizards game . DUNCANVILLE, Texas -- Short of sneaking on the last flight out of Dallas after their dispiriting 3-1 loss to the Stars on Saturday night, the Ducks got themselves out of the city to get back to basics. Sunday's grueling hour-long practice was at a suburban ice rink well away from the grisly scene at American Airlines Center basketball . To pay for the sins of poor execution and spotty effort, the Ducks went through drills that focused on two things: skating and competing. Technically, it wasn't a "bag skate" or a practice without pucks. But it was hard enough to send a message. "The message was we weren't good enough," Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle said. The list of things wrong with Saturday's game is long, with poor passing and a sluggish power play among the lowlights, but Carlyle directed some of his criticism to details that weren't as noticeable. "Start with faceoffs in the first period," Carlyle said "We're a puck-possession team and we need to be attacking And we're not starting with the puck. The majority of games have been under 40% in the faceoff circle.

Some games under 30%. "Carlyle then worked his way down the list. "Are we taking the first penalty or drawing the first penalty? Who's getting the first power play or the first goal? We've got some concerns on those issues and it was pretty evident last night. "The score was 3-1 and I thought that was flattering. "After the loss, Ducks center Andy McDonald questioned the team's focus and preparation . Goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere acknowledged that they aren't the team that usually put opponents on the defensive at the start of games last season Washington Wizards Verizon Center - verizoncenter . So far, the Ducks (4-5-1) have given up the first goal in five of their six defeats, regulation or otherwise. "I think that it's obvious that our starts haven't been as good as they could have been in lots of the games," Giguere said bullet flag . "It seems that we start a little slow and once the game gets started, we're starting to react instead of being the team that initiates. "The Ducks' offense has been sporadic at best capitals . They've been shut out twice and held to two or fewer goals six times in their first 10 games. With a second scoring line having no impact because of injuries to Todd Bertuzzi and the inability to replace the departed Dustin Penner, the offense has fallen on the shoulders of their top line -- Ryan Getzlaf, Chris Kunitz and Corey Perry Washington Wizards Verizon Center . The trio has 12 goals but they didn't do much Saturday as they went scoreless. "I think we've got to be one of the top lines every night," Getzlaf said "We're deeper than we're playing capitals hockey . We definitely have a lot more skill out there and ability to play than we're showing right now. "Forward Rob Niedermayer, one of the team's assistant captains, said the Ducks have lacked consistency. "That's the biggest thing," Niedermayer said. "We can't have it where we put together some good games and then we'll not play well, especially against a division rival like Dallas. You can't afford to do that Washington Wizards Verizon Center - verizoncenter . "On Sunday, the Ducks simply sought to disassociate themselves from their Texas debacle. Wizards Verizon Center --eric. stephens.