Decline in sales of anxiolytics and hypnotics in Norway

Complete drug statistics from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health

2011-03-24

(Press-News.org) After many years of gradual increase followed by a three-year levelling off period, sales of addictive anxiolytic and hypnotic drugs decreased by just under two per cent in 2010.

This comes from the new report "Drug Consumption in Norway 2006-2010". The statistics include all sales of prescription and OTC drugs in Norway from wholesalers to pharmacies, hospitals / nursing homes and grocery stores. The report also shows that total sales of OTC medicines measured in DDDs declined by six per cent in 2010.

This is mainly due to lower sales of OTC packets of paracetamol and ibuprofen. If prescription packs of paracetamol and ibuprofen are included, the sale of these two drugs was relatively stable in 2010. This means that more people are being prescribed these medicines by their doctor.

In 2010, wholesalers sold drugs for 12.3 billion Norwegian kroner in Norway, of which veterinary drugs accounted for 500 million kroner. Calculated by sales price, this gives a turnover of just under 19 billion kroner in 2010, a decline of 1.1 per cent compared to 2009. The decrease is mainly due to sales in 2009 being affected by the influenza pandemic (sales of Pandemrix® vaccine and other influenza medicines, especially Tamiflu®). In addition, the introduction of price regulatory measures and preferred drugs within certain groups, such as for treatment of high blood pressure, resulted in reduced costs.

Sales of drugs measured in doses (DDD) increased by 0.9 per cent in 2010. There have only been minor changes in most drug groups.

### More information about the sale of drugs in Norway can be found in the report "Drug Consumption in Norway 2006 – 2010" available as a downloadable pdf from www.fhi.no.

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Road traffic pollution doubles risk of rejection after lung transplant

2011-03-24

Lung transplant patients have double the risk of organ rejection and death within five years of the procedure if they live near a main road, indicates research published online in Thorax. The Belgian researchers tracked the health of 281 patients who had undergone a lung transplant or retransplant at the same hospital between 1997 and 2008 until 2009. They took into account how far these patients lived from a main road and therefore a source of airborne road traffic pollution to see if this had any impact on their survival rates, as pollutants are known to trigger inflammation. Around ...

'What if?' scenario: Cyberwar between US and China in 2020

2011-03-24

As Iran's nuclear plant attack and Chinese-based hackers attacking Morgan Stanley demonstrate how the Internet can wreak havoc on business and governments, a new paper by a fellow at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy hypothesizes what an all-out cyberwar between the U.S. and China might look like. To date, the cyberattacks in East Asia have been relatively benign, said Christopher Bronk, author of "Blown to Bits: China's War in Cyberspace, August–September 2020," published this month in the U.S. Air Force journal Strategic Studies Quarterly. Bronk is ...

Critical care outside hospital 'incomplete, unpredictable, and inconsistent' across UK

2011-03-24

The critical care expertise available before a severely injured person can be admitted to hospital is "incomplete, unpredictable, and inconsistent," shows research published online in Emergency Medicine Journal. Ambulance services are often reliant on volunteer doctors with variable levels of expertise and the availability of specialist doctors is patchy, particularly over evenings or weekends, the study shows. This implies something of a postcode lottery of provision across the UK, and raises questions about the UK's ability to deal effectively with a critical incident ...

1 in every 5 Spaniards suffers from insomnia

2011-03-24

Insomnia is common in Spain, and affects one person in every five. This is the conclusion of a study carried out by the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona and the Stanford University School of Medicine (USA), which shows that 40% of survey respondents aged over 65 report interrupted sleep at night being the prime cause of this problem. "Good sleep hygiene is necessary in order to avoid primary insomnia, as well as being aware that the number of hours of sleep needed falls with age, adopting regular times for going to bed and getting up, and stopping having ...

Atlanta Tinting Company The Tint Guy Awarded 2010 Dealer of the Year by 3M Southern Films Distribution

2011-03-24

The Tint Guy, a premier Atlanta tinting company, was recently awarded the 2010 Dealer of the Year award for the state of Georgia by 3M Southern Films Distribution (SFD), a regional distributor of 3M Window Films. The Tint Guy has specialized in commercial, residential and automobile Atlanta window tinting since 1986. The Tint Guy is the only full-service 3M window film dealer in Georgia, carrying the complete line of 3M window film products. The Dealer of the Year is a state-wide award that is given each year to 3M dealers who display excellence in sales and customer ...

Sticking power: new adhesive earns patent, could find place in space

2011-03-24

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- A recently patented adhesive made by Kansas State University researchers could become a staple in every astronaut's toolbox. The patent, "pH dependent adhesive peptides," was issued to the Kansas State University Research Foundation, a nonprofit corporation responsible for managing technology transfer activities of K-State. The patent covers an adhesive made from peptides -- a compound containing two or more amino acids that link together -- that increases in strength as moisture is removed. It was created by John Tomich, professor of biochemistry, ...

Northern Rock plc Launches New Savings Website

2011-03-24

Northern Rock plc has launched a new interactive savings website to make it easier for customers to find a Northern Rock savings product from the competitive range available. The new savings website follows the introduction of Northern Rock's award-winning Mortgages website, which was launched in April 2010. The new site offers helpful advice and practical information, as well as full details on Northern Rock's savings products. For those customers thinking about investing their savings, at-a-glance guides are available to help them choose which savings product, ...

Subjects at risk of Alzheimer's may now be able to delay the onset of their first symptoms

2011-03-24

This press release is available in French. The human brain loses 5 to 10% of its weight between the ages of 20 and 90 years old. While some cells are lost, the brain is equipped with two compensatory mechanisms: plasticity and redundancy. Based on the results of her most recent clinical study published today in the online version of Brain: A Journal of Neurology, Dr. Sylvie Belleville, PhD in neuropsychology, the principal author of this study and Director of Research at the Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal (IUGM), which is affiliated with the Université ...

'Junk food' moms have 'junk food' babies

2011-03-24

A new research report published online in The FASEB Journal (http://www.faseb.org) suggests that pregnant mothers who eat high sugar and high fat diets have babies who are likely to become junk food junkies themselves. According to the report, which used rats, this happens because the high fat and high sugar diet leads to changes in the fetal brain's reward pathway, altering food preferences. Not only does this offer insight into the ever-increasing rate of human obesity, but it may also explain why some people easily resist fatty and sugary foods, while others seem hopelessly ...

Psychologists find the meaning of aggression

2011-03-24

AUSTIN, Texas — Bottling up emotions can make people more aggressive, according to new research from The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Minnesota that was funded, in part, by a grant from the U.S. Army. The study, published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, could have important implications for reducing violence and helping people in professions such as law enforcement and the military better cope with long hours and stressful situations. The psychologists used a pair of classic movie scenes in their research. ...

Decline in sales of anxiolytics and hypnotics in Norway

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: