Sedatives death toll triples in two years
dEaThs linked to prescription drugs and the use of sedatives bought online have soared in scotland, experts have warned.
Figures highlight a worrying surge in the number killed by their addiction to benzodiazepines – powerful sedatives including Xanax.
Experts fear the death toll will rise still higher as the dangerously addictive substances become easier to buy online.
The number of deaths linked to benzodiazepines, also known as ‘benzos’, has almost tripled from 192 in 2015 to 555 last year. The figures include 99 deaths last year from Xanax. in 2015, there were only two deaths linked to the sedative pill.
Xanax is not available on the nhs and can only be obtained legally in the UK via private prescription. it can be bought online from the Us, where it is legal.
it is used to treat anxiety, but growing numbers are becoming addicted after using the drug illegally to help them cope with mental health problems.
harry shapiro, director of drugWise, warned prescription drug addiction could affect huge numbers of people across the UK.
he said: ‘if you add up all the clinical reports and anecdotal evidence – bearing in mind there are millions of prescriptions written every year for a range of drugs – i cannot believe the toll this takes doesn’t go into the millions.’ The statistics show that the majority of those who died last year were men over 35, fitting the profile of the so-called ‘Trainspotting generation’ of long-term addicts who first began using drugs in the 1980s and 1990s.
The Xanax tranquilliser craze has been linked to teenagers who are said to take the drug recreationally or in order to help them cope with stress and depression.
some benzodiazepines are available on nhs prescription, such as Valium, but are only supposed to be used in the short term.
research shows that about four in every ten people who take them every day for more than six weeks become addicted.
They typically cause users to build up a drug tolerance, resulting in them craving even larger doses to get the ‘hit’ they desire.
Benzodiazepines become especially dangerous when mixed with other substances such as alcohol or opiates and can cause a user to fall into a coma. The figures are published in a national records for scotland report on drugrelated deaths in 2017.
a scottish Government spokesman said: ‘We are fully committed to tackling the damaging impact of drugs in scotland and our forthcoming drug and alcohol strategy aims to ensure the best health outcomes for people who use these substances, including counterfeit and prescription-only medicines.’
‘Millions of prescriptions’