§ Mr. Gwilym JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proportion of drugs prescribed by the NHS in Wales were tranquillisers; what was the cost; and what proportion that was of the total cost of drugs in(a) 1974, (b) 1979 and (c) at the latest available date.
§ Mr. Nicholas BennettInformation on drugs which are solely tranquillisers could be obtained only at disproportionate cost for years succeeding 1974. The available information is given in the table.
1974 1979 1989 Proportion of Total Prescriptions Tranquillisers 7.3 n/a n/a Sedatives and tranquillisers n/a 6.9 2.8 Anti-depressants and sedative/tranquilliser combinations n/a 0.4 0.1 Cost (Net Ingredient—£ Thousands) Tranquillisers 630.3 n/a n/a Sedatives and tranquillisers n/a 1,546 1,376 Anti-depressants and sedative/tranquilliser combinations n/a 192.0 84.0 Proportion of Total Net Ingredient Cost Tranquillisers 4.7 n/a n/a Sedatives and tranquillisers n/a 3.9 1.0 Anti-depressants and sedative/tranquilliser combinations n/a 0.5 0.1