WEST BANK (Dispatches) – Sales of sedatives in the Israeli-occupied territories have increased significantly since last October, a research group has revealed. According to Kahn-Sagol-Maccabi (KSM), when compared with the Second Lebanon War in 2006, which witnessed a 27 percent increase in the purchase of anti-anxiety medications, there has been an unprecedented increase of 204 percent in the sales of sedatives since October 7, 2023.
Whereas in 2006 the increase in sedative sales was noticed largely in the north of occupied Palestine, the research center reported that the increase over the past twelve months has been seen throughout the occupied territories.
It explained that the retrospective study was conducted with the approval of the Helsinki Committee with anonymous data from more than one million Maccabi members aged over 21, as a case study of environmental conditions and their impact on personal stress. The study looked at socio-demographic characteristics such as age, gender, area of residence and socio-economic status, and addressed patterns of using medications over the past 19 years, including October 7, by examining the number of anti-anxiety medication purchases.
The study shows that the risk of purchasing a short-term sedative during a “security operation” is 14 percent higher than in normal times. During the Second Lebanon War, the purchase of sedatives among residents of the north was 39 percent higher than among residents of the central areas.
During military operations in the south, there was an 18 percent increase in the purchase of anti-anxiety medications compared with residents of the central areas.