PMID- 32472941
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20210726
LR  - 20210726
IS  - 1365-2125 (Electronic)
IS  - 0306-5251 (Linking)
VI  - 87
IP  - 4
DP  - 2021 Apr
TI  - Nonmedical use of benzodiazepines and Z-drugs in the UK.
PG  - 1676-1683
LID - 10.1111/bcp.14397 [doi]
AB  - AIMS: To estimate prevalence of last 12-month nonmedical use (NMU) of 
      benzodiazepines and Z-drugs (the nonbenzodiazepine hypnotics zaleplon, zolpidem 
      and zopiclone) in the UK. METHODS: Data were collected using the Non-Medical Use 
      of Prescription Drugs survey with poststratification weighting applied to be 
      representative of the UK population (>/=16 years). Participants were questioned 
      about whether they had nonmedically used benzodiazepines and/or Z-drugs in the 
      last 12-months and from where they had obtained the drug (including via a 
      prescription, or illicitly from a friend/family member, a dealer or via the 
      internet). Additional questions were asked about last 12-month use of illicit 
      drugs (cannabis, cocaine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethylamphetamine [MDMA], 
      non-pharmaceutical amphetamine, crack cocaine and/or heroin). RESULTS: The study 
      included 10 006 eligible participants representing approximately 52 927 000 UK 
      adults. The estimated prevalence of past 12-month NMU of any benzodiazepine 
      and/or Z-drug was 1.2% (95% confidence interval: 1.0-1.5) corresponding to 
      approximately 635 000 adults; amongst this group only an estimated 4.6% (1.2-8.0) 
      had NMU of both a benzodiazepine and a Z-drug. The highest prevalence of NMU for 
      only Z-drugs was among those who had used heroin in the last 12-months (5.4%, 
      2.7-10.5), whilst the highest prevalence of NMU for only benzodiazepines was 
      among those who had used illicit stimulants in the last 12-months: cocaine (5.9%, 
      3.8-8.9), amphetamine (5.6%, 3.1-10.0) and MDMA (5.2%, 3.1-8.8). The drug 
      non-medically used was more commonly acquired without than with a prescription 
      for both only benzodiazepines (70.2%, 59.4-81.1 compared to 51.3%, 41.5-64.6) and 
      only Z-drugs (75.6%, 61.6-89.7 compared to 33.9%, 16.9-51.0). CONCLUSION: There 
      is little overlap between benzodiazepine and Z-drug NMU suggesting distinct 
      nonmedical use of the drugs; future studies need to explore whether this relates 
      to personal preference, drug availability or other factors. A significant 
      proportion are acquiring these drugs for NMU without a prescription, so without 
      guidance and monitoring from a medical practitioner. While the dangers of mixing 
      benzodiazepines and heroin/other opioids are well documented, there is a paucity 
      of data regarding concomitant NMU of benzodiazepines and stimulant drugs, or NMU 
      of Z-drugs and opioids, and, given the prevalence of these combinations, this 
      requires further investigation.
CI  - (c) 2020 The Authors. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology published by John 
      Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Pharmacological Society.
FAU - Hockenhull, Joanna
AU  - Hockenhull J
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-3361-7598
AD  - Clinical Toxicology, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
FAU - Black, Joshua C
AU  - Black JC
AD  - Rocky Mountain Poison & Drug Safety, Denver Health and Hospital Authority, 
      Denver, CO, USA.
FAU - Haynes, Colleen M
AU  - Haynes CM
AD  - Rocky Mountain Poison & Drug Safety, Denver Health and Hospital Authority, 
      Denver, CO, USA.
FAU - Rockhill, Karilynn
AU  - Rockhill K
AD  - Rocky Mountain Poison & Drug Safety, Denver Health and Hospital Authority, 
      Denver, CO, USA.
FAU - Dargan, Paul I
AU  - Dargan PI
AD  - Clinical Toxicology, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
AD  - Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, London, UK.
FAU - Dart, Richard C
AU  - Dart RC
AD  - Rocky Mountain Poison & Drug Safety, Denver Health and Hospital Authority, 
      Denver, CO, USA.
FAU - Wood, David M
AU  - Wood DM
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-7826-7237
AD  - Clinical Toxicology, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
AD  - Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, London, UK.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
DEP - 20200621
PL  - England
TA  - Br J Clin Pharmacol
JT  - British journal of clinical pharmacology
JID - 7503323
RN  - 0 (Central Nervous System Stimulants)
RN  - 0 (Illicit Drugs)
RN  - 12794-10-4 (Benzodiazepines)
SB  - IM
MH  - Adult
MH  - Benzodiazepines
MH  - *Central Nervous System Stimulants/therapeutic use
MH  - Humans
MH  - *Illicit Drugs
MH  - *Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology
MH  - United Kingdom/epidemiology
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - benzodiazepines
OT  - drug abuse
OT  - public health
EDAT- 2020/05/31 06:00
MHDA- 2021/07/27 06:00
CRDT- 2020/05/31 06:00
PHST- 2020/05/13 00:00 [revised]
PHST- 2020/03/24 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2020/05/15 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2020/05/31 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2021/07/27 06:00 [medline]
PHST- 2020/05/31 06:00 [entrez]
AID - 10.1111/bcp.14397 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2021 Apr;87(4):1676-1683. doi: 10.1111/bcp.14397. Epub 2020 
      Jun 21.