Many people turn to drugs to solve sleep problems, says the survey, published in the September issue of Consumer Reports.

One in five Americans took prescription or over-the-counter medicines at least once a week to help them sleep, the magazine reports.

Further, among the 15 percent of respondents who took such medications in the preceding month, a “disturbingly high” 38 percent said they were on the drugs for more than two years, the Yonkers-based publisher said.

For Consumer Reports’ full sleep report, go to www.ConsumerReportsHealth.org and click on the report under “Today’s Health News.”

Developing an effective oral form of the nutrient may save millions of Americans from painful injections, needed to ensure they get adequate levels of vitamin B12.

The study, which involved 20 men divided into four groups, showed vitamin B12 absorption was 10 times higher in those given a supplement using Emisphere’s eligen technology, according to the Cedar Knolls, N.J.-based company, which employs 60 workers in research and development at the Landmark at Eastview office complex.

Eligen, which the company has been developing in some form for years, essentially chaperons the nutrient through the digestive system, where it would otherwise be destroyed, into the bloodstream.

Data from the study hold “real promise for improving the way we approach vitamin B12 supplementation,” said Donald W. Jacobsen, professor of molecular medicine at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

At least 5 million people a year in the United States receive some 40 million B-12 injections to treat a range of debilitating diseases.

Sales have been driven by smartly placed TV ads, which are run heavily during evening programming, according to AdWatch, a product of Yonkers-based Consumer Reports that monitors advertising campaigns.

Consumer Reports notes that one of the biggest ad buyers is Eli Lilly & Co., maker of Cialis, which spent more than $150 million advertising the drug directly to consumers last year, making it the seventh most advertised drug in the country last year. (Click here for CR’s chart detailing the top spenders.)

The ads for ED drugs may make you think they’re a cure-all, the consumer advocate says, but Consumer Reports chief medical adviser, Dr. Marvin Lipman, blogs that the convenience attributed to Cialis, known affectionately as “The Weekender,” may overshadow significant warnings about side effects.

CR recommends that men talk to their doctors. Opening up the lines of communication will help identify non-drug options for treating ED, such as reducing stress, quitting smoking, losing weight, and drinking less. CR notes that one in four cases of ED results from taking another medication. Another common cause of ED is heart disease — and you want those symptoms diagnosed, not masked by a pill.

To learn more, go to www.ConsumerReportsHealth.org.

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The Healthcare Equality Index, or HEI, is a step in establishing a nationwide set of standards to reduce discrimination and ensure quality hospital-based health care, said the Human Rights Campaign Foundation and the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association.

The absence of federal protections, inadequate state laws and inconsistent hospital policies often result in discrimination and inadequate health care for GLBT patients and their families, the organizations said.

HRC surveyed 88 hospitals across the country and rated them on five areas of policy and practice: patient non-discrimination; hospital visitation; decision making; cultural competency training; and employment non-discrimination.

Three New York state hospitals participated in the survey. They are: Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn; New York Presbyterian Hospital, Manhattan; and Strong Memorial Hospital, Rochester.

HEI is modeled after another project by the Human Rights Campaign that rates corporations on equality standards for GLBT workers. That index, HRC said, has led to more than 50 percent of Fortune 500 companies today to offer benefits to same-sex partners, up from just a few eight years ago.

The 2008 Healthcare Equality Index is available online in PDF format at www.hrc.org/hei.

Tests showed that Duane Reade Time Release Iron 50 milligrams contained 0.6 micrograms of lead, a level that exceeds safety standards set by California, the only government in the nation that has set a lead limit, according to Dr. Tod Cooperman, president of ConsumerLab.com.

Cooperman said it isn’t likely that products from Duane Reade would be sold in the Golden State, since all Duane Reade’s 242 stores are in the New York City metropolitan area, including six in Westchester. The company does, however, sell the product via its Internet site, DuaneReade.com.

Nevertheless, Cooperman said, in the absence of a limit set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, ConsumerLab.com relies on the California standard for its testing.

California’s limit is a good one, Cooperman said. “So we hold all supplements, regardless of where they are sold, to that standard.”

The other problem product ConsumerLab.com encountered was Vitron-C High Potency Iron Plus Vitamin C, which, tests showed, contained just 37 percent of the nutritional iron claimed on its label. The supplement is widely sold, including at well-known Internet retailers, such as Amazon.com.

Iron supplements are popular with U.S. consumers, racking up some $237 million in sales in 2006, Cooperman said.

ConsumerLab.com’s full report on iron supplements is available to subscribers of its Web site.

The consumer publication’s research showed that not only that prices vary from store to store for the same, but the differences can be dramatic — even within the same chain, depending on location.

Consumer Reports placed calls to 163 pharmacies nationwide to gauge price differences among four prescription drugs, three name brand medicines and one generic. For a three-month supply of pills for the urinary incontinence drug Detrol, for example, the price ranged from $365 to $551.

The magazine also found significant price disparities for the two other name-brand drugs it studied: for Plavix (which prevents blood clots), the spread was $382-$541, and for Levoxyl (for treating hypothyroidism), prices ran from $29 to $85. And for the generic alendronate (for osteoporosis), the price range was $124 to $306.

The magazine’s small scale market-basket study showed Costco was the cheapest for the four drugs CR sought quotes for, followed by AARP.com and Wal-Mart. Walgreens and Rite-Aid were among the priciest for the four drugs.

Besides calling different stores and comparison shopping, other cost-saving tips include:

• Don’t rule out independents: Though they’re not the cheapest overall, many mom-and-pop pharmacies are highly competitive and offer top notch service.

• Talk to your employer: Benefits administrators can provide details about pharmacy benefit managers, also known as PBMs.

• Buy generics: They can cost 20 to 50 percent less than their brand name equivalents.

• See if there’s a discount program: Some stores have programs for those 50 and older; other programs are open to anyone without insurance.

The full report is available for free now at www.ConsumerReportsHealth.org, or in the June issue of Consumer Reports magazine available on newsstands tomorrow.

The annual cost of long-term care rose to $129,570 in the Lower Hudson Valley, the boroughs of New York City outside Manhattan and the Long Island counties of Suffolk and Nassau, according to a study by Genworth Financial Inc.

The nationwide study found that the cost of such care, provided in nursing homes, assisted living facilities and in the home, rose for the fifth consecutive year.

In Manhattan, the cost of long-term care rose to $145,392, said the Richmond, Va.-based seller of financial products, including insurance.

White Plains-based ConsumerLab.com and The People’s Pharmacy, of Durham, N.C., said a determination by FDA that a generic version of Wellbutrin XL 300, manufactured by Impax Laboratories and distributed by Teva Pharmaceuticals, was safe was based on information from a lower dose of the drug.

Calling the FDA’s findings disappointing, ConsumerLab.com and The People’s Lab said there was no evidence that the FDA evaluated the generic drug for safety and effectiveness.

“For the FDA to say that it has reviewed the safety and efficacy of this product is not correct,” said Dr. Tod Cooperman, president of ConsumerLab.com.

“The FDA is misleading the public by publishing a positive review which actually provides no data for the 300 milligram product – the strength about which people are complaining,” said Joe Graedon of The People’s Pharmacy (www.peoplespharmacy.com).

The FDA undertook its investigation after receiving complaints that patients taking the branded product experienced a loss of effectiveness when switched to the generic pill. Further, patients reported new onset or worsening of side effects.

In reporting its findings today, the FDA said the generic version, marketed as Budeprion XL 300 milligrams, was “safe and effective.”

Further, the government said the generic version was equivalent, and therefore interchangeable with, Wellbutrin XL 300.

Instead, the Yonkers-based consumer advocate advises doctors and patients to first try safer and less expensive pain relievers, such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB and generics), naproxen (Aleve and generics), acetaminophen (Tylenol and generics) or non-opioid prescription pain medicines.

Evidence indicates that these common painkillers are often just as effective as opioids – and less risky – against chronic pain when used at somewhat higher doses, according to a report in Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs.

The report, which examines 12 opiod medications, is available free at www.CRBestBuyDrugs.org.