Former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Jamie O'Hara has spoken about his battle with sleeping pills and the worries of addiction during his playing career.
The 34-year-old has revealed that he was prescribed the tablets by a club doctor after struggling to sleep following evening games.
This comes after The Sun reported how several Premier League players are hooked on prescription pills, with up to three current England internationals addicted to the Class C medication.
O'Hara has called on clubs at all levels of the football pyramid to act and help players facing an increasing number of matches.
"I used sleeping pills a lot. After games on a Tuesday night I was always terrible at sleeping. The problem was I then became a little dependent on them. I wanted them all the time so I started taking them quite a bit," O'Hara told talkSPORT.
"I wouldn't say I was addicted to them but I ended up getting to a point where I wanted to stop because I felt like I was needing them more.
"I can understand why people are taking them but I don't understand why they are trying to get a high out of it. They need help."
The World Anti-Doping Agency's list of banned substances does not currently include sleeping pills, but there are now calls for players to be regularly screened by their clubs or for the pills to be outlawed.
Oliver Thomas
