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Half of all women in England, and more than 40% of men are now regularly taking prescription medicines, according to the comprehensive Health Survey for England.

All the figures exclude contraceptives and smoking cessation products.

Nearly a third of prescriptions were for cardiovascular disease with more than 65 million prescriptions for tackling high blood pressure, heart failure or cholesterol levels.

The report also said antidepressants were taken by more than one in 10 women - double the figure for men.

Dr Peter Swinyard said he prescribes antidepressants when "it's the best thing for the patient to take" but says some doctors give a prescription "rather than giving time".

This clip is originally from 5 live Afternoon Edition on December 10 2014.