RCSI's (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland) MiniMed Open Lecture Series 2014/15 continued on Wednesday, 25 February with a special information event, consisting of a lecture and a multi-disciplinary panel discussion, on the topic of the Irish relationship with benzodiazepines and anti-anxiety medication. The session was hosted by the RCSI School of Pharmacy.

The lecture, delivered by Dolores Keating (Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer, RCSI School of Pharmacy) was titled ‘Mammy's little helper - the Irish relationship with anxiety medication'. This was followed by the panel debate called ‘Anti-anxiety medication use in Ireland today - problem cause or cure?' and was chaired by the Head of the RCSI School of Pharmacy, Professor Paul Gallagher.

In her talk which is now available to watch online, Keating looks at the history of anti-anxiety medication from the 1950s up to the current day while examining the social impact and social awareness of these medications in popular culture and look at some of the advertising approaches that have been taken over the years (and the coining of the Rolling Stones Song ‘Mother's Little Helper'). Dolores also speaks about the risks and benefits of using such medications to treat anxiety.