More and more abuse with ADHD remedies

UN Drug Report: More and more people are taking ADHD funds

03/03/2015

More and more young people use psychotropic drugs to concentrate better and to become more efficient. In particular, the use of the substance methylphenidate, which is used against ADHD, has increased worldwide, as shown by a UN drug report.

Psychotropic drugs for better concentration and performance
More and more young people use psychotropic drugs for better concentration and performance. According to a news agency dpa news agency, a report by the UN Drug Control Council (INCB) indicates that the use of methylphenidate globally increased by 66 percent between 2012 and 2013. Methylphenidate is mainly used for the medical treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

ADHD is also increasingly found in Germany
As reported by INCB on Tuesday in Vienna, eleven percent of children and adolescents between the ages of four and 17 years have suffered from ADHD, according to diagnoses. The „Zappelphillip syndrome“, As ADHD is also popularly called, it is also becoming increasingly common in Germany. Thus, the number of diagnoses among under-19s from 2006 to 2011 increased by 42 percent. But not only children, even adults have ADHD, as recently reported.

Lack of accurate prescribing guidelines
According to INCB, the worldwide increase in the use of the substance could be due, among other things, to a lack of exact prescription guidelines. ADHD symptoms can occur in many different forms. Health experts often refer to three main symptoms in this context: inner restlessness, impulsivity and difficulty in regulating attention and mood. Methylphenidate is used, among other things, to make those affected calmer and to increase their attention. The administration of medication is often combined with psychotherapy.

Compliance with the drug control agreement
The Drug Control Council registered an overall increase in psychoactive substances. The number of these substances rose from 348 to 388 within one year. The report states: „The extent of global use of these substances illustrates the dynamics of the drug problem.“ The INCB monitors compliance with the UN's drug control agreements. On the one hand, the Control Council should prevent the use of chemicals for the illicit manufacture of drugs and, on the other, should also make it possible to provide adequate care for medicine and research.

5.5 billion people are denied effective treatment in an emergency
How important this point is is shown in another part of the report. Thus, 5.5 billion people worldwide have no or limited access to medicines containing substances such as codeine or morphine. Three-quarters of the world's population is thus denied effective pain treatment in an emergency. According to the experts, a total of 92 percent of morphine is available to only 17 percent of the world's population - mostly in the US, Canada, Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand. (Ad)