Alarm as numbers of teens addicted to ‘smart drugs’ surge

A record number of students and schoolchildren are being treated for addiction to stimulant ‘smart drugs’, putting them at risk of severe anxiety and insomnia, experts warn.

The UK Addiction Treatment Group (UKAT), a leading addiction clinic, has answered questions from thousands of young people seeking help after becoming addicted to the tablets.

Smart drugs is an umbrella term for a number of drugs that increase concentration, including Ritalin, also known as methylphenidate, and Adderall, which contains four types of amphetamine. Both are used to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) by increasing activity in areas of the brain that help control attention and behavior.

However, in people who do not have ADHD, they can boost energy and concentration, which is why they are often used by students, especially during exam periods.

Doctors warn that children are handing out these smart drugs to friends at school and have urged policymakers to tighten regulations that currently allow private clinics to prescribe the powerful drugs without face-to-face consultation.

When taken as recommended, these drugs are non-addictive. But many of those who abuse it take significantly higher doses or crush and snort the pills, making them more potent. When taken this way, the drug can become addictive, while also increasing the risk of trouble sleeping, anxiety and even heart damage.

UKAT has seen an almost 80 per cent increase in calls for help from students and young professionals addicted to smart drugs compared to before the Covid pandemic.

Studies show that prescriptions for ADHD medications have risen nearly 70 percent since 2020 as a record number of people are diagnosed with the disorder. While many will have a genuine need, experts believe that this increase in ADHD is also caused by private clinics overdiagnosing the condition.

As a result, there are even periodic shortages of some of these drugs, meaning people in need cannot receive vital treatment.

Doctors have warned that students are passing smart drugs to their friends at school

‘It’s alarming how easy it is for children to get these pills,’ says Dr Mateen Durrani, clinical psychiatrist at UKAT. “They are often handed out at school by children who have prescriptions.”

Abuse of ADHD medication is not a new phenomenon – a 2020 survey found that around six per cent of UK university students had used it to help them study.

Some experts believe the surge in smart drug addiction cases is linked to the Covid pandemic, which drastically reduced the time many students spent in person with teachers and also led to exam cancellations. Now, they argue, these students are turning to drugs to help them perform.

‘Since the pandemic, there’s been a lot of pressure on students to catch up on what they’ve missed,’ says Dr Durrani. “But what often happens is that they keep taking larger and larger amounts of these pills to maximize their concentration, until they become addicted to the effect it has on the brain.”

Last month, a BBC investigation raised concerns that some private clinics were falsely diagnosing people with ADHD and offering them medication without meeting them in person. Some experts believe that this relaxed approach to prescribing such strong pills may be linked to the rise in addictions.

“Since the pandemic the number of prescriptions has exploded,” said Professor Philip Asherson, Emeritus Professor of Neurodevelopmental Psychiatry at King’s College London. “Perhaps this has led to greater availability of the pills in schools.”

Dr. Durrani agrees: “There’s clearly very little regulation in the field, and one of the consequences is kids misusing the drugs.”

But according to Dr. Durrani, such an addiction is treatable.

“We give patients a low-dose sedative to combat the anxiety and agitation they often feel when they come off heavy doses of these drugs,” she says.

The need to address the problem is clear. In the short term, stimulants can cause nausea, decreased appetite, trouble sleeping, and anxiety. It has also been linked to the circulatory disorder Raynaud’s, which causes fingers and toes to turn white or blue and leads to pain and numbness in the joints. But the pills can also increase blood pressure and heart rate. Experts say this could have dangerous consequences in the long run.

‘The long-term effects of methylphenidate abuse are unclear because it is still relatively new,’ says Professor Asherson. “But taking very large amounts of this drug increases the risk of heart problems later in life.”