The use of benzodiazepines is strongly associated with death from drug overdose in veterans receiving opioid analgesics, a large study from the USA has found.  The study applied to a mostly male cohort of veteran patients. GPs need to bear in mind that prescribed benzodiazepine use is a risk marker for death from overdose in their patients who are prescribed opioid analgesics. The authors suggest considering the option of providing naloxone for emergency use by carers in high-risk cases.