More teens take hyperactivity drugs
The number of prescriptions for drugs to treat hyperactivity in children is on the rise, figures suggest.
Data obtained by the Conservatives found more than 420,000 prescriptions were written for under-16s in 2007 - up 33% on 2005 figures.
More than 40,000 prescriptions were also written for 16 to 18 year-olds, up 51% since 2005.
In 2007, the NHS spent more than £17 million on the drugs.
The number of prescriptions for anti-depressants and anti-psychotics is also on the rise, the data suggested.
More than 113,000 prescriptions of anti-depressants were issued to children under 16 in 2007 and nearly 108,000 to 16 to 18-year-olds.
The figure for teenagers aged 16 to 18 has not changed since 2005 but is up 6% among those under 16.
More than 86,000 prescriptions of anti-psychotics were issued to children under 18 in 2007.
The number given to 16 to 18-year-olds is up 7% since 2005 up 11% among under-16s.
Shadow health minister, Anne Milton, said: "We already know that our children suffer the lowest levels of well-being in Europe."
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