The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 280 No 7496 p390
5 April 2008

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News summary

Prescribing of treatments for obesity increases in Scotland

Use of drugs to treat obesity has increased dramatically in Scotland, according to new NHS statistics. Prescriptions for orlistat grew by 14.9 per cent in 2006–07 compared with the previous year and prescriptions for sibutramine grew by 9.4 per cent.

Meanwhile, prescribing of drugs for rheumatic diseases and gout fell by 3.3 per cent in 2006–07 compared with the previous year. This included a fall in the prescribing of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for the third consecutive year.

The statistics are published by the Information Services Division of NHS National Services Scotland.