Fears Brits are getting hooked on antidepressants as prescription rates TREBLE in past 15 years
The UK's consumption of drugs such as Prozac is nearly double that of France and Italy
BRITS are becoming hooked on antidepressants and take nearly twice as many “happy pills” as other developed nations, a new study has revealed.
Prescription rates have trebled in the last 15 years putting the UK fourth among a list of 29 other western countries, reports The Daily Mail.
And we take nearly double the amount of antidepressants as France, Italy and Holland.
Experts have blamed GPs for handing out pills too easily to depressed patients because of long waiting lists for therapy.
But research also shows that Brits were becoming more open about their mental health and thus more willing to ask for help.
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the UK consumption rate of antidepressants is 94.2 doses a day for every 1,000 inhabitants.
That is up from 37.6 doses in the year 2000 when the UK was seventh in the global list.
The study also shows a rise in the consumption of drugs such as Prozac in every wealthy nation on Earth which again is down to more open attitudes towards mental health problems.
The report said: “There is significant variation in consumption of anti-depressants between countries.
“Iceland reports the highest level in 2015, twice the OECD average, followed by Australia, Portugal and the United Kingdom.”
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