Art classes put up as alternative to prescription pills

Activities such as art classes could be recommended as an alternative to medication for patients in England, as part of a major initiative to reduce the number of people becoming dependent on prescription drugs.

New National Health Service guidelines will put in place facilities to help people coming off the long-term use of prescription medicine and advise general practitioners to review patients' medication regimes.

The Times newspaper quotes figures showing that in the past year, 8.4 million adults in England were prescribed antidepressants, which is 8 percent higher than in 2019, the year when a government review took place, resulting in the new advice. About 23 percent of women and 12 percent of men are on antidepressants.