The Derry public are being urged to always read the label of medicines and over-the-counter drugs after a report revealed the North’s biggest killer drugs were legally obtainable.
Emmet Doyle, SDLP election candidate in the Moor ward, said a research report by St George’s University of London had revealed the top five killer drugs in the North were legally obtainable, and some could be found in every home.
According to the National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths, painkillers, sleeping pills, anti-depressants, alcohol (combined with other drugs) and anti-psychotic drugs were the top five drugs that kill people here.
Mr Doyle said as some of these substances, like painkillers, could be found in most homes, it was imperative the labels of these items should always be to avoid serious harm.
He added: “The intake of alcohol mixed with other drugs, even some over-the-counter drugs, can have serious consequences and should be avoided at all costs.
The report also highlights the surge in deaths from so-called ‘legal highs’ from 10 deaths in 2009 to 68 deaths across the North, England, Scotland and Wales in 2012. The PSNI must be doing more to tackle the flow of these legal highs and regulators should be working more closely with statutory agencies to identify and ban substances which could be used as legal highs.”
