Preliminary finding: consumption of benzodiazepines in Brazil during the years 1988 and 1989.

This work investigates consumption of benzodiazepines in Brazil during the years 1988 and 1989, using the following sources of information provided to the Brazilian Ministry of Health by institutions that deal with benzodiazepines: (a) benzodiazepine stocks recorded at the beginning and end of each year; (b) Brazilian (internal) production of benzodiazepines; (c) imported and exported amounts of benzodiazepines; (d) amounts employed in the manufacture of brand-name products and in the making of prescription formulas. The records a, b and c furnished the 'calculated consumption', of benzodiazepines, in kilograms. The d records, on the other hand, directly furnished the 'informed consumption', also in kilograms. The data obtained were also expressed in terms of defined daily doses (DDDs)/1,000 inhabitants/day, considering the informed consumption and the Brazilian population. As for the DDDs/1000 inhabitants/day, they were found to be 23.03 and 18.48 for the years 1988 and 1989, respectively. A striking discrepancy was detected between the calculated and the informed consumption figures, the latter having exceeded the former by 2096 kg in 1988 and by 4909 kg in 1989. Diazepam was the primary drug responsible for this difference. Such results may suggest that an illicit, unrecorded trade of benzodiazepines is occurring in Brazil.