The National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM) is launching a prevention campaign this Wednesday, June 7. The organization recalls that the “misuse of drugs can have serious consequences by causing more adverse effects”.
Three out of ten French people adapt the dose or duration of the drugs prescribed to them themselves, according to a study by the ANSM (National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products), which launches this Wednesday, June 7 a campaign on the proper use of medicines: “Medicines are not ordinary products, do not take them lightly”.
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It is a question of informing and raising awareness among the French, of whom, moreover, one in five increases the doses or takes several drugs at the same time to relieve their symptoms more quickly and one in two gives a drug to a loved one who has the same symptoms. Finally, a third consider it rather “not risky” or “not at all risky” to take an expired drug.
Tips to follow
Posters, advertising spots, leaflets and emails… the ANSM campaign is intended to reach as many people as possible, from patients to healthcare professionals. The organization insists that “misuse of drugs can have serious consequences by causing more adverse effects, ineffective treatment, or even aggravation of the disease”. That it is necessary “to respect the prescription of the health professional”, “to pay attention to the shelf life of the drugs”, and “not to take several drugs at the same time without the advice of a professional”.