Nearly half of all Britons are taking prescription medication on a regular basis according to new figures produced by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC)
According to the HSCIC, 50 percent of women and 43 percent of men are taking specialised drugs to combat physical and mental illnesses, with cholesterol-lowering statins and anti-depressants being among the most common drugs taken by Brits.
According to the HSE report, doctors issued on average 18.7 prescriptions per person in England during 2013, costing the NHS more than £15bn per year.
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While the report does not count issuing of contraceptives and anti-smoking medication, nearly a third of the prescriptions were related to regulating blood pressure, with more than 65 million being issued in one year alone.
Additionally, more than one in 10 women said they were taking medication to do with mental health issues, with 17 percent of women from low income backgrounds taking anti-depressants, compared to 7 percent of women in higher income brackets.
Read More: Nearly half of Brits on prescription drugs
