Britain hooked on prescription drugs
MINISTERS have ordered a review of prescription drug addiction, amid concern over the rising number of women becoming hooked on painkillers, anti-anxi- ety drugs and antidepressants.
NHS figures show that one in eleven adults was prescribed potentially addictive drugs in the past year, with a 50 per cent rise in prescribing levels over 15 years.
Last night, ministers said decisive action was needed to stop the problem reaching the scale of addiction seen in the United States.
Two thirds of people on “dependence-forming medicines” are female, and typically in their 50s and 60s, national research shows. The data show a 60 per cent rise in the amount of time patients are staying on opiate-based painkillers, which are supposed to be prescribed for short periods.
The percentage of patients in England on the main medicines classed as “potentially dependence-forming” rose from six per cent to nine per cent between 2000 and 2015 – a 50 per cent increase – the research shows.
It means almost four million adults have been prescribed such medications in the past year. Separate statistics show that 64million NHS prescriptions for anti-depressants are now doled out annually compared with 22million in 2000. UK levels are the fourth-highest among Western countries, and rising faster than in any other country.
Although antidepressants are not classed as dependence-forming, they will be included in the review, amid concern that some patients experience severe difficulties coming off the drugs.
Ministers have instructed Public Health England (PHE) to carry out an independent review of the evidence, and produce recommendations on how best to address the growing drug problem.
Steve Brine, the public health minister, said: “We know this is a huge problem in other countries, like the US, and we must make sure it doesn’t become one here.
“While we are world-leading in offering free treatment for addiction, we cannot be complacent that’s why I’ve asked PHE to conduct this review.
“PHE has an excellent track record in robust evidence reviews, and this will help us understand the scale of this issue here and how we can address it.”
The review will cover benzodiazepines and similar drugs usually prescribed for insomnia, opioid pain medicines, antidepressants and pills to treat anxiety disorders. Findings are due to be published early next year.
Prof Helen Stokes-lampard, the chairman of the Royal
64 million The number of NHS prescriptions for antidepressants each year, compared with 22 million in 2000
College of GPS, said: “Addiction to any substance can have a devastating impact on a patient’s health and well-be- ing, and that of their family and friends. We welcome this independent review as a means of better understanding the complex reasons behind addiction to prescription medication, and to shape our approach to tackling it.”
Prof Stokes-lampard said many medications that were potentially addictive could be effective, with the right supervision. However, too often, patients who would have preferred talking therapies were remaining stuck on long-term medication, because no other help was on offer, she said.
Rosanna O’connor, PHE’S director of drugs, alcohol and tobacco, said: “PHE very much welcomes this opportunity as it is vital that we have the best understanding possible of how widespread these problems are, the harms they cause, as well as the most effective ways to prevent them happening and how best to help those in need.”