Prescription drug misuse in Europe is higher than previously thought

Misuse of prescription drugs is a bigger problem in Europe than previously thought, research published in the open access journal BMC Psychiatry has shown.1

Non-medical prescription drug use is a leading public health issue in the United States, where an estimated 20% of people have at some time used a prescription medicine that was not prescribed to them or have used a prescription drug to achieve a euphoric state. However, until now the prevalence in Europe has been unclear.

The study looked at non-medical prescription drug use in 22 070 …