Assisting the fight against drug misuse

Posted in: Tip's and Tricks 8th January 2018

To combat the rising number of deaths due to drug misuse, pharmacy and healthcare consumables provider Valley Northern is manufacturing and supplying denaturing kits. There is a range of sizes that can be purchased from the company’s website for the disposal of out of date and unwanted controlled drugs.

NHS England, healthcare service providers, healthcare regulators and the police share the legal responsibility in the UK to ensure compliance with the Misuse of Drugs Act 2001. The Act states that all controlled drugs must be correctly disposed of, first by being denatured and then incinerated.

According to a study by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the number of deaths in 2016 due to legal and illegal drugs in England and Wales was the highest it had been since comparable statistics began in 1993.

Denaturing makes drugs more difficult for people to retrieve and reuse. The process is part of a drive to reduce the number of people misusing harmful drugs and to increase rates of recovery from drug dependency.

“Drug denaturing helps to ensure the safety of members of the public, especially children, who may otherwise have access to harmful drugs,” explained Darren Pittock, sales executive at Valley Northern. “Of particular concern is drug addicts, who may attempt to retrieve control drugs that have been disposed of.”

All dosage forms can be denatured. Valley Northern’s denaturing kits eliminate the need to crush tablets, making them particularly easy to use. Tablets are simply added to the container with water and, after shaking, the contents become congealed.

For more information on Valley Northern’s denaturing kits call 01785 250123.