Why is there a shortage of ADHD drugs and what can people do?
Amid a shortage of ADHD medicines in many countries, people may need to ask their doctor for an alternative drug or a reduced dose of their existing treatment
By Clare Wilson
31 October 2023
Adverse symptoms of ADHD are commonly treated with the medicine Ritalin (methylphenidate), but supplies are running low
Bill Truran/Alamy
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a condition that tends to affect people’s concentration and make them restless and impulsive. Medicines that help people with ADHD focus and feel calmer are widely used, both for children and adults. But there are shortages of these drugs in many countries.
Which ADHD medicines are affected?
There are several kinds of drugs used to treat adverse symptoms of ADHD, most of which are in short supply. These include three of the most commonly used drugs – stimulants called amphetamine mixed salts, methylphenidate and lisdexamfetamine – with manufacturing delays reported by two firms, Teva and Takeda.
These shortages seem to have had knock-on effects on the supply of less commonly used ADHD medicines. The disruptions are occurring in many countries around the world, including the US and Australia. Some, such as the UK, now have export bans in place.
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Are rising diagnoses of ADHD contributing?
Yes – rising global demand has contributed to the problem, the UK government has said. In the UK, for instance, diagnoses among men rose nearly 20-fold between 2000 and 2018. In the US, the biggest contributor to the rising demand for ADHD medicines was young adults, aged 22 to 44, with prescriptions for the most commonly used drug rising by about 50 per cent in this group between 2018 and 2022.
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ADHD: What's behind the recent explosion in diagnoses?
In the UK, doctors were told in September not to start writing prescriptions for people newly diagnosed with ADHD until the supply problems have eased. NHS England is expected to issue advice to doctors next week about how to identify users of the medicines who would be most at risk from treatment interruption and whose medicine supplies should be prioritised.
