The magazine “Prescrire” unveiled on Wednesday a new blacklist of drugs to avoid. More than a hundred remedies are singled out.
“An unfavorable benefit-risk balance”
Each year the magazine “Prescribe” publish a list of medications judged “more dangerous than useful”. In total, 107 remedies (including 88 marketed in France) are to be ruled out for better treatment. These are prescribed, sometimes for years, in the treatment of various pathologies. Their patient-relevant efficacy endpoints and adverse effects were assessed with a supporting literature search. “Prescribe” noted “an unfavorable benefit-risk balance in all the clinical situations in which they are authorised”.
New drugs to avoid
three new medications were included in the 2023 blacklist. These are peanut protein (Palforzia), Roxadustat (Evrenzo) and opium tincture (Dropizal). These products will be shelved since the “adverse effects to which they expose are disproportionate to the efficiency gain they bring”, according to media reports.
Some remedies widely used in France
Of the medications widely used in France are also included in this list. Maxilase and Rhinadvil (used against sore throats) are, for example, not recommended, because they expose you to allergic or skin disorders, which are sometimes serious. “In case of uncomplicated gastroesophageal reflux”, Smecta should be avoided because of its natural lead pollution. Voltarene, prescribed for inflammation and pain, “exposes you to an increase in cardiovascular adverse effects (including myocardial infarction, heart failure)”.