- Addiction to prescription and over-the-counter drugs has risen 22% in 2 years
- Top rehab provider warns it will overtake alcohol and harder drugs admissions
- Admissions for painkiller addictions has risen by 17% in the same time frame
- Addictions to codeine, diazepam, benzos, tramadol and zopiclone are common
- Comes as data shows 1 million needlessly take sedatives and anti-depressants
- People don’t recognise they’re addicted because drugs are legal, expert warns
- Call for the Government and GPs to provide better education and support
Claudia Tanner For Mailonline
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Over-the-counter drug addiction in the UK is set to become more common than heroin and alcohol abuse, alarming new figures reveal.
Admissions to a top rehab provider for problems with prescription and over-the-counter drugs have risen by a shocking 22 per cent in the last two years.
The UK Addiction Treatment (UKAT) Centres – which provided data from across its six facilities – claim that current rates that will soon overtake admissions for alcohol and harder drug addiction.
They have warned that not enough people are aware of the risks of addiction with certain commonly prescribed drugs.
The news is further evidence of a growing epidemic of addiction to prescription medicines – it follows a damning report in March that revealed the UK has the fourth-most medicated population in Europe when it comes to anti-depressants.
Warning: GPs need to make people aware of the addictive nature of prescription drugs
Now UKAT has revealed painkillers such as codeine and benzodiazepines (also known as benzos) prescribed by GPs has risen by 17 per cent.
UKAT admits 140 addicts for treatment per month, six per cent of which are for over-the-counter drug or prescription drug addiction.
But this is rising at an alarmingly fast rate. In the last six months, it has admitted 48 people for either codeine or Benzodiazepine addiction, compared to just 26 for cannabis.
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UKAT say around 65 per cent of people who come into the centres are addicted to legal substances – whether that’s alcohol or prescription and over-the-counter medications.
Eytan Alexander, founder of the centre, warned that unless attitudes change about prescription and over the counter drugs, the figures will continue to increase.
He said: ‘GPs need to make people aware of the addictive nature of these drugs and fully explain the risks of becoming addicted to them.
‘It’s very easy for people to get a false sense of security and think, “The doctor has prescribed these to me, they’re legal, so they must be ok to take” and not consider themselves addicted.
‘Opiates prescribed for pain can be very addictive. Codeine, diazepam, benzos, tramadol are all causing problems. People even come to us for for help getting off zopiclone used for insomnia.
‘And withdrawal from these addictive prescription medications can be just as serious as withdrawal from alcohol, coming off them too quickly can cause seizures for example.’
A viscous cycle
Mr Alexander explained that treatment to help withdrawal from pharmaceutical drugs can typically take between four to six weeks – double the time it takes a heroin addict to safely become clean.
Because of the potency of drugs such as Diazepam and other Benzo drugs, tolerance increases at a much faster rate than that of ‘hard’ substances, he said.
This results in overuse and addiction and the side-effects can be more severe because of their intensity.
The cheap cost of these drugs fuels the problem too. The street value of diazepam, per pill is less than £1, whereas a 0.1g bag of heroin is ten times that at £10 per hit.
Mr Alexander said: ‘Because a patient’s pain is subjective, requests for repeat prescriptions often aren’t challenged or explored.
‘And when doctors stop issuing prescription drugs to patients, people can easily buy them online.
‘It’s currently a hugely vicious cycle but we hope that with support from the newly-elected Government it’s one we can break with better education and support.’
ONE MILLION TAKING ANTI-DEPRESSANTS ‘THEY DON’T REALLY NEED’
More than one million patients are needlessly taking sedatives and anti-depressants, a recent, damning report reveals.
They are left on the drugs for months or years at a time, fuelling a growing epidemic of addiction to prescription medicines.
One in 11 people in the UK – five million across England alone – take anti-depressants every year.
Research by the University of Roehampton suggests a quarter of a million in Britain have been left on tranquillisers such as Valium for more than six months, well over the recommended one-month limit.
Another 800,000 have been taking anti-depressants for more than two years, having wrongly been prescribed them in the first place, the report says.
Coming off these drugs can cause crippling withdrawal effects, such as hallucinations and depression.
The Mail has backed calls led by charities and MPs for a 24-hour helpline for people innocently hooked on prescription drugs.
Study leader Dr James Davies told the Mail’s Good Health section: ‘This is a scandal for which there can be no excuse.’
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