Prescriptions For Dependency-Forming Medicines Cost NHS £431 Million Less Than In 2016/17, New Figures Show

The cost of dependency-forming medicines prescribed in England has more than halved since 2016/17. New data published by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) shows the cost fell by 57% between 2016/17 and 2025/26, from £756 million to £325 million. Dependency-forming medicines are prescribed medicines which can cause withdrawal.

The reduction in cost was mainly driven by:

• the total number of identified patients prescribed dependency-forming medicines decreasing by 14% in the last 10 years, from 8.1 million in 2016/17 to 7 million in 2025/26
• the total cost of gabapentinoids falling by 87% since 2016/17
• the total cost of opioid drugs falling by 32% since 2016/17

In 2025/26, 66 million items for dependency-forming medicines were prescribed to an estimated 7 million identified patients in England. Approximately 60% of identified patients who were prescribed a dependency-forming medicine were female.

Opioid drugs remain the most prescribed dependency-forming medicines in 2025/26, with 39 million items prescribed at a cost of £256 million.

The data also shows that people in the most deprived areas of England were more likely to be prescribed dependency-forming medicines than those in the least deprived areas, with 59% more identified patients receiving prescriptions. This trend of higher prescribing in more deprived areas has remained consistent since 2016/17.

In March 2026, where patients were prescribed items from two different categories of dependency-forming medicines, the most common combination was opioids and antidepressants. This applied to approximately 650,000 patients, accounting for 53% of patients who received prescribing in two categories of dependency-forming medicines.

The NHSBSA’s dependency-forming medicines publication was developed in response to a government commissioned review into the dependence and withdrawal associated with some prescribed medicines.