Co-codamol prescribing across the NHS.
Co-codamol is England's biggest opioid line by a distance: 14.8m items a year, paracetamol and codeine in one tablet. Its scale is the uncomfortable headline of the pain data; reduction rhetoric has barely dented a habit this embedded in general practice.
The NHS in England dispensed 14,680,691 prescription items of Co-codamol in the 12 months to July 2026, across primary care and hospitals.
Spending on Co-codamol over those 12 months was £72.7m at net ingredient cost, the list price of what was dispensed before any discounts.
Items were down 2.3% on the previous 12 months.
99% of Co-codamol volume moved through primary care and 1% through hospital pharmacies.
Co-codamol ranks #2 of 14 chemical substances in Non-opioid analgesics and compound preparations (BNF 4.7.1), by items dispensed.
Among Integrated Care Boards, NHS Greater Manchester ICB dispensed the highest volume of Co-codamol.
Source: NHS Business Services Authority open data (English Prescribing Data and SCMD), OGL v3.0. Items count prescriptions dispensed, not patients treated.
Diamond markers show events around this period: NICE decisions, safety alerts, supply notices, Drug Tariff moves and price concessions, new suppliers in dm+d and framework awards. Hover a marker for the date and type. The evidence behind each one, with the source quote and link, sits behind Apply.
| Month | Items | Spend (NIC) |
|---|---|---|
| July 2026 | 1,261,200 | £7.2m |
| June 2026 | 1,213,860 | £6.9m |
| May 2026 | 1,175,783 | £6.7m |
| April 2026 | 1,214,813 | £7.0m |
| March 2026 | 1,227,915 | £6.8m |
| February 2026 | 1,126,408 | £6.4m |
| January 2026 | 1,236,228 | £5.6m |
| December 2025 | 1,294,134 | £5.7m |
| November 2025 | 1,175,661 | £5.0m |
| October 2025 | 1,295,098 | £5.5m |
| September 2025 | 1,262,772 | £5.3m |
| August 2025 | 1,196,819 | £4.6m |
The same series as the chart, most recent month first. The full monthly history, as CSV, sits behind Apply.
44.8% of its class.
Co-codamol ranks #2 of 14 chemical substances in Non-opioid analgesics and compound preparations (BNF 4.7.1), by items dispensed in July 2026. The full class league, who's gaining, and the month-by-month share movement sit behind Apply.
Average items by calendar month across the full history, indexed to the annual mean.
30 suppliers hold a live co-codamol listing, across 136 packs.
A A H Pharmaceuticals Ltd, AAH Hillcross, Accord-UK Ltd, Advanz Pharma, Alliance Healthcare (Distribution) Ltd, Almus Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Aspar Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Bristol Laboratories Ltd, Cipla EU Ltd, Crescent Pharma Ltd, GlucoRx Ltd, JCSH Pharma Ltd, Kent Pharma (UK) Ltd, Key Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Manx Healthcare Ltd, McNeil Products Ltd, Medihealth (Northern) Ltd, Medreich Plc, Novumgen Ltd, Numark Ltd, Omega Pharma Ltd, Phoenix Healthcare Distribution Ltd, Phoenix Labs Ltd, Rosemont Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Sigma Pharmaceuticals Plc, Special Order, The Boots Company Plc, UCB Pharma Ltd, Wockhardt UK Ltd, Zentiva Pharma UK Ltd. In the last twelve months 0 packs were listed and 1 discontinued. Every pack, its GTIN and published list price, and each week's changes are in the full report.
A listing in the NHS Dictionary of Medicines and Devices means a product may be supplied. It says nothing about sales or market share, and the list price is the reimbursement price, not what any buyer pays. Contains information from dm+d 10.1.0, published by the NHS Business Services Authority under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
2,850,267 people in England had at least one co-codamol item prescribed in primary care in 2025/26, 5.2 items each. Source: NHSBSA Dependency-Forming Medicines, England, official statistics, OGL v3.0. Identified patients only.
Co-codamol across all 36 ICBs.
Every Integrated Care Board in England, shaded by how much co-codamol its GPs dispense per head of population. Hover an ICB to name it. The ranked figures for all 36 ICBs, and the drill-down to practice level, are in the full report.
Darker shading marks where Co-codamol is dispensed most per head of population. Exact figures for every ICB, and the drill-down to practice level, are in the full report.
Zoomed out to the 7 NHS regions.
The same 12 months rolled up to NHS England's seven regions, ranked by intensity.
The teaser view.
Three rows each. The full 36-ICB view, every prescribing organisation, every strength and the hospital picture sit below the fold, behind Apply.
- 1 NHS Greater Manchester ICB 1.1m
- 2 NHS Cheshire and Merseyside ICB 1.1m
- 3 NHS West Yorkshire ICB 645k
- – + 33 more. See the full 36-ICB table. See all →
- 1 NHS Essex ICB +3.1%
- 2 NHS West and North London ICB +0.9%
- 3 NHS South West London ICB -0.1%
- – + 33 more. See every ICB, ranked. See all →
- 1 Co-codamol 30mg/500mg tablets 45%
- 2 Zapain 30mg/500mg tablets 17%
- 3 Co-codamol 15mg/500mg tablets 13%
- – + 3 more. See every strength and pack. See all →
Split of items across NHSBSA primary care and SCMD hospital dispensing.
Prescribing by deprivation.
Items per 1,000 registered patients by deprivation decile (1 = most deprived), practice deprivation weighted by where each practice's patients live. Read the shape rather than the absolute level: the most and least deprived deciles cover far fewer practices, and age structure drives much of the gradient.
The devolved nations.
| Nation | Items · 12 months | Data to |
|---|---|---|
| England | 14.7m | July 2026 |
| Scotland | 2.5m | June 2026 |
| Northern Ireland | 1.2m | May 2026 |
| Wales | 1.7m | April 2026 |
Each nation publishes its own community prescribing data, with different coding and list rules, so read these per-nation rather than as an exact UK total. Sources: NHSBSA (England), Public Health Scotland, NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership, OpenDataNI. Used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
What open data won't tell you about co-codamol.
Three strengths with very different codeine content share this line, so items overstate uniformity; an 8/500 script and a 30/500 script are different clinical decisions.
Asked and answered.
Is co-codamol prescribing rising or falling in the NHS?
Falling. England dispensed 14,680,691 items of Co-codamol in the 12 months to July 2026, down 2.3% on the previous 12 months. Items count prescriptions dispensed, not patients treated, so the change can reflect dose and duration shifts as well as patient numbers.
How much does the NHS spend on co-codamol?
£72.7m at net ingredient cost in the 12 months to July 2026. Net ingredient cost is the list price of the medicine before discounts and rebates; the NHS's final bill, especially for hospital medicines, is usually lower.
Where in England is co-codamol prescribed most?
By raw volume, NHS Greater Manchester ICB dispensed the most co-codamol in the last 12 months. Raw volume favours the biggest populations; the map on this page shades every ICB by items per head to correct for that.
How up to date is this data?
This page runs to July 2026, the most recent NHSBSA release. Prescribing data publishes roughly six to eight weeks in arrears, and DoseTrend refreshes within 48 hours of each monthly release.
The full breakdown.
Every ICB, every prescribing organisation, every strength, the hospital view with what trusts paid and who holds each framework line, Signals with their sources, and the monthly briefing PDF. The rows below are placeholders; the real tables sit behind the application.
Related pages.
See the full molecule directory, or read about the data and pricing.
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