§ Bob SpinkTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what research his Department has(a) conducted and (b) commissioned into prescription drug addiction; and if he will make a statement; [174456]
(2) how many people in the United Kingdom he estimates are addicted to prescription drugs. [174457]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonPrescription medicines that are recognised to have the potential for dependence include benzodiazepines, synthetic opioids, amphetamines and barbiturates. At the time of licensing, the available data on the potential for abuse and dependence of drugs within these classes are carefully considered by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and the Committee on Safety of Medicines. The product information for these medicines contains clear warnings about the potential for dependence and where appropriate restrictions on the licensed indications and the duration of treatment are specified in order to reduce this risk.
Information for prescribers on benzodiazepines and opiates has been disseminated via the "Current Problems in Pharmacovigilance" bulletin and/or the "CMO Update", and is also available in the British National Formulary distributed to doctors and pharmacists.
The use of benzodiazepines is the area where the greatest amount of research has been conducted. This includes a large project, costing more than £1 million, currently being conducted by the Medical Research Council into dependence in association with benzodiazepines.
Information is not available on the number of people addicted to prescription drugs in the United Kingdom.