Last Year, 1 in 2.6 Citizens Prescribed Medical Narcotics... Record High

'Medical Narcotics Handling Status Statistics' Released
19.46 Million Patients Prescribed Medical Narcotics
Decrease in Use of Fentanyl Patches and Painkillers

Last year, one in every 2.6 citizens was found to have used medical narcotics. This is the largest scale since 2018, when related statistics began to be collected through the Narcotics Integrated Management System. People in their 40s and 50s used them the most.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced on the 19th the "2022 Medical Narcotics Handling Status Statistics," which contains the manufacturing (import), distribution, and prescription status of medical narcotics (narcotics and psychotropic drugs) last year.

High Usage Among People in Their 40s and 50s

The number of patients prescribed medical narcotics was 19.46 million (excluding duplicates), an increase of 620,000 (3.3%) compared to the previous year. By efficacy, anesthetics had the highest number of patients prescribed at 11.22 million. This was followed by hypnotics and sedatives (9.28 million), anti-anxiety drugs (6.41 million), analgesics (3.12 million), anti-epileptic drugs (1.24 million), appetite suppressants (1.21 million), antitussives (656,000), and ADHD treatments (221,000).

By age group, those in their 50s accounted for 21.0% (4.06 million), and those in their 40s accounted for 19.9% (3.84 million). This was followed by people in their 60s (19.3%, 3.74 million), 30s (12.5%, 2.43 million), 70s (10.6%, 2.04 million), 20s (7.5%, 550,000), 80 and above (6.0%, 400,000), and under 10 years old (3.2%, 320,000). The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety analyzed that the high use of medical narcotics among those aged 40 and above is because anesthetics such as propofol and midazolam are frequently used in health checkups or minor procedures.

Last year, there were a total of 46,541 narcotics handlers (businesses). Pharmacies accounted for 22,887 (49.2%), and medical institutions accounted for 16,947 (36.4%). Other handlers included veterinary hospitals (3,527), wholesalers (1,977), academic researchers (1,029), manufacturers (63), raw material users (63), and import/export businesses (48).

By type of medical professional prescribing medical narcotics, there were 101,057 doctors, 5,239 veterinarians, and 5,165 dentists. For the first time, the number of veterinarians prescribing medical narcotics exceeded that of dentists.

Anti-Anxiety Drugs Most Used, Analgesics and Appetite Suppressants Decrease

Last year, the total prescription volume of medical narcotics was 1.8736 billion units, a 2.5% increase compared to 2021.

By efficacy, anti-anxiety drugs accounted for the largest prescription volume at 918.63 million units (49.0%). By ingredient, alprazolam (anti-anxiety drug) had the highest prescription volume at 394.23 million units (21%).

Prescription volumes of analgesics, appetite suppressants, and fentanyl transdermal patches, which have raised concerns about misuse, decreased. The number of prescriptions for analgesics and appetite suppressants decreased by 5.3% and 5.0%, respectively, compared to the previous year. Prescription volumes also decreased by 3.6% and 0.8%, respectively. The number of prescriptions and prescription volumes for fentanyl transdermal patches have been declining from 2019 to 2022. In particular, the number of patients under 20 prescribed fentanyl transdermal patches was 482, with a prescription volume of 3,067 units. This accounts for 0.3% and 0.1% of total prescriptions, respectively. Both the number of patients and prescription volumes decreased compared to 2021.

Domestic production of medical narcotics amounted to 294.2 billion KRW, a decrease of about 10.6% compared to 2021. Imports increased for the second consecutive year to 99.4 billion KRW. Exports slightly decreased to 14.6 billion KRW compared to the previous year.

Medical narcotics are currently essential in medical settings for anesthesia before surgery and management of cancer and chronic pain. Due to population aging and active chronic pain management trends, demand is expected to increase. However, misuse can lead to addiction, serious side effects, death, and permanent damage, so strict management is necessary.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety operates a "pre-notification" system targeting doctors and dentists who prescribe appetite suppressants and analgesics, which fall under misuse action criteria, and imposes administrative measures such as prescription bans if excessive prescriptions continue.

Additionally, to prevent misuse of narcotics in advance, from June next year, prescribing doctors will be required to compulsorily check patients' medication histories. The Ministry plans to promptly establish subordinate laws and regulations, including designating substances subject to medication history checks.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.