§ Ms. PrimaroloTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will commission the Institute of Psychiatry to carry out research into(a) the number of children in the United Kingdom addicted to benzodiazepines, (b) the number of adults in the United Kingdom addicted to benzodiazepines, (c) the number of people placed in psychiatric hospitals in the United Kingdom in order to withdraw from benzodiazepines and (d) the number of people on sick or invalidity benefit in the United Kingdom following benzodiazepine withdrawal; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Mellor[holding answer 11 April 1989]: There are no plans at present for the Department to commission research in the specific areas referred to by the hon. Member. However, the Department has sponsored a significant body of research relevant to benzodiazepines, mainly through the Institute of Psychiatry. In addition, the Medical Research Council, which is the main agency through which the Government support medical research in the United Kingdom and which receives its grant from the Department of Education and Science, is supporting a team at the Institute of Psychiatry which is examining the effects of benzodiazepines on mental function.
§ Ms. PrimaroloTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what figures are available showing the trend of benzodiazepine prescriptions in 1988.
§ Mr. Mellor[holding answer 11 April 1989]: The number of prescriptions for benzodiazepines dispensed by community pharmacists in Great Britain in the period January to June 1988 compared with 1987 was as follows:
Number of prescriptions millions January to June 1987 12.7 July to December 1987 12.8 January to June 1988 11.9 July to December 1988 n/a n/a—Not available.
§ Ms. PrimaroloTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will introduce legislation to prevent the prescription of benzodiazepines to children under the age of 16 years.
§ Mr. Mellor[holding answer 11 April 1989]: No. The benzodiazepines are clinically useful in treating children. Some of the drugs are essential for the treatment of epilepsy and they are valuable for short-term use to relieve acute anxiety. Occasional use of the drugs to treat night terrors and somnambulism may also be justified. It is up to doctors to prescribe the drugs properly in accordance with the guidance available to them.
§ Ms. PrimaroloTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether he will request the Committee on Safety of Medicines to issue further advice to doctors in the light of the increase in prescriptions for benzodiazepines in 1987;
616W(2) what advice the Committee on Safety of Medicines is issuing to doctors about the prescription of benzodiazepines to children;
(3) whether he will meet the Committee on Safety of Medicines to discuss the increase in benzodiazepine prescriptions in 1987.
§ Mr. Mellor[holding answer 11 April 1989]: The Committee on Safety of Medicines published advice on the prescribing of benzodiazepines in Current Problems No. 21, issued to all doctors in January 1988; a copy is in the Library. Its advice, which is still valid, is directed towards the treatment of all patients and is also summarised in the latest edition of the British National Formulary (BNF) which the Department issues to all doctors. The BNF also warns that hypnotics, the most common of which are benzodiazepines, should rarely be prescribed for children. I have no present plans to meet the Committee or to ask it to issue further advice on this subject.
§ Ms. PrimaroloTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he intends to take following the increase in the number of prescriptions for benzodiazepines dispensed by community pharmacists in 1987.
§ Mr. Mellor[holding answer 11 April 1989]: Since 1979 the overall trend in the number of prescriptions for benzodiazepines has been downwards. We estimate that in Great Britain, 25.4 and 25.5 million prescriptions were dispensed for benzodiazepines during 1986 and 1987 respectively. These estimates are based on a sample of approximately one in 200 prescriptions dispensed by retail chemists and appliance contractors in England and Wales. For Scotland, the sample is one in 100. The difference between 1986 and 1987 figures is within sampling error and is not statistically significant.
§ Ms. PrimaroloTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his estimate of the number of people put on benzodiazepines during 1988 who have taken them for longer than the period advised by the Committee on Safety of Medicines.
§ Mr. Mellor[holding answer 30 January 1989]: This information is not collected centrally.