“Medicines are not ordinary products, do not take them lightly,” recalls the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines (ANSM). This Wednesday, the health authority is launching a general public campaign on their proper use, a “major public health issue”. “We are the biggest consumers of drugs in Europe, which makes this issue all the more important,” said Christelle Ratignier-Carbonneil, director general of the ANSM, on Tuesday, presenting the initiative to the press.
According to a study conducted in 2021 for the ANSM by the Viavoice Institute, three out of ten French people adapt, by themselves, the dose or duration of the drugs prescribed to them. One in five French people takes higher doses or several drugs at the same time to relieve symptoms more quickly. Nearly one in two French people give medicine to a loved one because they have similar symptoms, one in ten even does it systematically or often. And 34% consider it rather safe or not at all risky to take an expired medicine.
Social networks play “an amplifying role” in this misuse, observed Christelle Ratignier-Carbonneil. However, the consequences of misuse can be “deleterious”, underlines the ANSM. For example, in the event of an overdose, paracetamol – one of the most commonly used drugs to relieve pain or to fight fever – can cause serious liver damage, which may require transplants. In addition, drugs prescribed or recommended for one person may be useless or dangerous for another. Not respecting a dose or duration of treatment can also make it ineffective, even dangerous.
To “reach as many people as possible”, the Medicines Agency is launching a digital campaign, which will be rolled out until the end of the year, on the internet, Youtube, social networks, streaming platforms, news… In a desired “offbeat” tone, it encourages the adoption of four good reflexes: respect the prescription or the advice of the health professional (dose, frequency, duration, etc.), use only medication prescribed or recommended by a healthcare professional, do not take several medications at the same time without the advice of a healthcare professional. And finally, pay attention to the modalities and shelf life of the drugs.