Have you ever heard the expression: “Seatbelts save lives”?

This public service announcement became popular in the 1980s. It helped increase the use of seatbelts in private vehicles.

By the mid-1990s, most states required their use by law. People who failed to buckle up could be ticketed and fined.

Although airplanes were equipped with seat belts in the 1920s, it wasn’t until the early 1970s that passengers were required by law to fasten seatbelts during takeoff and landing. Anyone who doesn’t comply could be fined.

In 1991, geriatrician Dr. Mark Beers published the first list of potentially inappropriate medications for older adults. It listed medicines that might put older patients at risk for falls, fractures, confusion, constipation or urinary problems.

Over the years, researchers have updated the “Beers Criteria.” Today, the goal is to reduce adverse drug reactions in people over the age of 65. That’s because aging bodies do not process medications as effectively as younger people.

They also may be taking many more medications, increasing the risk for dangerous drug interactions.

Unlike seatbelts, though, no one is monitoring prescription practices.

There are no penalties for doctors or pharmacists who prescribe and dispense drugs that may be inappropriate for an older person.

An analysis published in JAMA (Jan. 12, 2026) demonstrates that, despite some progress, there is still substantial room for improvement.

The authors conclude, “Despite decades of guidelines cautioning against their use, many older adults receive potentially inappropriate CNS-active medications. Patients with cognitive impairment were more likely than those with normal cognition to receive such medications.”

Central nervous system (CNS) drugs include antidepressants that have anticholinergic activity, antipsychotics, barbiturates, benzodiazepine sedatives and sleeping pills.

In the latest study involving almost 5,000 participants, roughly 16% or one out of six patients was receiving an inappropriate medication that could affect brain function.

Some readers describe the possible consequences of such prescriptions.

One wrote: “I am an RN certified in gerontological nursing. When I was working in an urgent care clinic, a woman brought her elderly mother for evaluation because she had become so dizzy that she needed physical support to keep from falling.

“On review of her medications, I found that her physician had ordered Librium to treat anxiety. This medication is on the Beers list of those that are inappropriate for the elderly. The daughter said that it was the only new medication, and the dizziness started after she took her first dose.

“I shared that with the urgent care physician, but he discounted it, telling me “It can’t be Librium — the dose is too low.”

He told the patient and her daughter to continue the medication.

“Alarmed by the doctor’s instructions, I took a substantial professional risk by telling the daughter to not give her mother any more of the medication until she spoke with the prescribing physician.

I feared the patient could suffer injury due to the effects of the drug.”

We have heard from other readers that some older family members take multiple medications daily.

This increases the chances for side effects or interactions.

Our free Guide to Drugs and Older People is available as a downloadable PDF from the Health Guides section of our store at www.PeoplesPharmacy.com.

All health professionals should consult the Beers list when prescribing for older individuals.

In their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. Write to them in care of King Features, 300 W. 57th Street, 41st Floor, New York, NY 10019, or email them via their website: www.PeoplesPharmacy.com. Their newest book is “Top Screwups Doctors Make and How to Avoid Them.”