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Independent analysis of NHS open data
PharmaInsight

Nicotine vs Methadone hydrochloride

National NHS prescribing compared (Prescription Cost Analysis)
Data updated May 2026

Methadone hydrochloride was dispensed 7.1× as often as Nicotine in May 2026 — 137,667 items versus 19,460 in England.

19,460items

Nicotine · May 2026

NHSBSA Prescription Cost Analysis

137,667items

Methadone hydrochloride · May 2026

NHSBSA Prescription Cost Analysis

Figure 1. Nicotine versus Methadone hydrochloride: national items dispensed by month

▬ Nicotine   ·   ╌ Methadone hydrochloride

0 101k 203k Jan 2021 Dec 2021 Oct 2022 Aug 2023 Jun 2024 Apr 2025 May 2026 Methadone hydroc… 19,460 Jan 2021: 28k Feb 2021: 28k Mar 2021: 31k Apr 2021: 29k May 2021: 28k Jun 2021: 30k Jul 2021: 32k Aug 2021: 30k Oct 2021: 31k Nov 2021: 33k Dec 2021: 31k Jan 2022: 31k Feb 2022: 31k Mar 2022: 34k Apr 2022: 30k May 2022: 31k Jun 2022: 30k Jul 2022: 29k Aug 2022: 29k Sep 2022: 27k Oct 2022: 27k Nov 2022: 29k Dec 2022: 26k Jan 2023: 31k Feb 2023: 31k Mar 2023: 36k Apr 2023: 30k May 2023: 32k Jun 2023: 33k Jul 2023: 32k Aug 2023: 31k Sep 2023: 29k Oct 2023: 30k Nov 2023: 31k Dec 2023: 28k Jan 2024: 31k Feb 2024: 31k Mar 2024: 31k Apr 2024: 31k May 2024: 31k Jun 2024: 28k Jul 2024: 29k Aug 2024: 27k Sep 2024: 26k Oct 2024: 27k Nov 2024: 26k Dec 2024: 25k Jan 2025: 28k Feb 2025: 26k Mar 2025: 27k Apr 2025: 26k May 2025: 25k Jun 2025: 23k Jul 2025: 24k Aug 2025: 21k Sep 2025: 22k Oct 2025: 22k Nov 2025: 20k Dec 2025: 21k Jan 2026: 21k Feb 2026: 20k Mar 2026: 22k Apr 2026: 21k May 2026: 19k

Source: NHSBSA Prescription Cost Analysis, to May 2026

Nicotine versus Methadone hydrochloride, May 2026
Measure Nicotine Methadone hydrochloride
Items, May 2026 19,460 137,667
Items, last 12 months 256,748 1,757,297
Net ingredient cost, May 2026 £698,525 £914,147

See the full profile for Nicotine or Methadone hydrochloride.