§ Mr. McMasterTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what is his latest estimate of the number of people who have had one or more of their limbs amputated as a result of injecting the gel formulation of the drug Temazepam during each of the past five years; [39185]
(2) what is his latest estimate of the number of deaths in each of the past five years which were related to the abuse of the drug Temazepam; what estimate he has made of the percentage of these which involved the gel formulation, and if he will make a statement. [39197]
§ Mr. BowisBecause of the covert nature of its misuse, information on the precise extent to which Temazepam is misused and on the precise extent of the physical injury or damage which may result when Temazepam soft gelatin gel-filled capsules are injected is not available centrally.
However, the scientific and medical literature record a number of limb amputations following misuse of the capsules by injection. Other serious health complications reported which can cause lasting physical damage or injury include thromboses, gangrene, ischaemia, cellulitis, tissue necrosis and abscesses.
The number of deaths certified as due to abuse of Temazepan—ICDs1 304.1, 304.7, 304.8, 305.4, 305.9— alone or with other drugs for the years 1989–1993 in England and Wales is
- 1989: 7
- 1990: 12
- 1991: 13
- 1992: 15
- 1993: 15
860W
British Dental Students Accepted Each Year By UK Dental Schools since 1985 Dental Hospital 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 Birmingham 75 76 77 75 62 65 68 66 66 68 Bristol 36 47 45 46 45 49 51 54 61 62 Cardiff 47 47 46 47 49 53 55 55 53 59 Guy's UMDS 87 84 84 84 90 91 86 85 93 89 King's College 52 61 54 54 54 56 54 54 57 59 Leeds 53 53 53 53 50 53 52 54 50 52 Liverpool 55 54 53 56 57 57 52 55 46 54 The London 55 55 52 50 53 56 53 54 61 58 The available data do not differentiate between the different formulations of Temazepam that may be available in any one year.
My right hon. friend the Secretary of State for Health announced on 17 October a ban on general practitioners prescribing Temazepam capsules under the national health service from 1 January 1996. My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department announced on 12 September increased controls on all formulations of Temazepam under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 1985.