Psychotropic Drugs Overprescribed in West, According to UN Official
Originally published by Reuters Health, June 24, 2002
LONDON (Reuters Health) — Doctors in developed countries are overprescribing potentially addictive drugs, such as antidepressants and sedatives, a United Nations drugs expert said on Monday.
Dr. Hamid Ghodse, president of the UN's International Narcotics Control Board, said that psychotropic drugs were being used to counter social problems, sometimes without solid medical justification.
"We are correcting social difficulties by medication and when such drugs are over-consumed, it is a great cause for concern," he told attendees at the annual meeting of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Cardiff. "Over-consumption could lead to addiction and the diversion of such drugs to illicit trafficking and drug abuse."
Dr. Ghodse, who is Chair of Addiction Psychiatry at St. George's Hospital in London, said that in some countries as many as 25% to 35% of all patients were prescribed psychotropic drugs without being diagnosed with a mental disorder.
He said that children in the US and elsewhere who are prescribed drugs for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are often not ill. "While not wishing to deny the potential benefit of treating children with ADHD, it is natural to feel uneasy about the liberal use of a drug with the specific intention of modifying a child's behaviour such that he or she becomes more compliant and less troublesome," he said. "We are medicalising something that is often not a medical condition."
He said inappropriate prescribing reflected cultural trends and expectations and the marketing practices of pharmaceutical companies. These factors, combined with weak regulatory systems and improper medical practice may lead to inappropriate and excessive consumption, he said.
