A Department of Health press release published today highlights two new reports on addiction to prescription and over-the-counter drugs.

People can become dependent on tranquilisers, sleeping pills and opiate based painkillers, such as codeine, particularly if taken at high doses for prolonged periods. Long-term dependence on substances such as benzodiazepines has been identified as a particular issue.

Today’s reports reveal that the overall prescribing of benzodiazepines is falling but that prescription of benzodiazepines to treat anxiety continues to increase as do the sale and prescription of opioid painkillers.

The two studies (published by the National Addiction Centre and National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse) suggest that:

• most prescribing falls within current guidelines;
• long-term prescribing increases the likelihood of dependency but this is not inevitable;
• over the last 19 years dispensing of benzodiazepines has decreased but there has been an increase in the prescribing of anxiolytic benzodiazepines and the sale and prescription of opioid painkillers;
• dependence may be overcome if individuals are supported to reduce gradually  their medication;
• of the 32,510 people in drug treatment who reported problems with prescription or over-the-counter medicines only 3,735 were not also using illegal drugs; and
• most local areas provide some treatment for people who develop problems in relation to medicines.

Public Health Minister Anne Milton said:

“Addiction to prescription drugs can be every bit as damaging and distressing as addiction to illegal drugs.
“For the first time we have a national picture of what is happening in the community and how we can address addiction to painkillers and tranquillisers.
“Most areas in the country have services in place to support people who develop problems but there is regional variation coupled with a paucity of knowledge on the issue. We want local health professionals to pay close attention to the report so that they meet the needs of their populations.”

RCGP Chair Dr Clare Gerada said:

“GPs are all too aware of the damage that addiction to drugs – prescription and non-prescription – can do to the lives of an addicted person and their family, and the RCGP welcomes this renewed focus from the Department of Health.

Links

1. Prescription drug addiction addressed. Department of Health press release, 11 May 2011.
2. Benzodiazepines, z-drugs and codeine products. National Addiction Centre. 2011.
3. Addiction to medicine: an investigation into the configuration and commissioning of treatment services to support those who develop problems with prescription- only or over-the-counter medicine (PDF). National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse. 2011.