Atorvastatin, the cholesterol-lowering drug for preventing and treating heart disease and stroke, was again the most widely prescribed drug in the UK last year. About ten million people now take a daily statin, mostly atorvastatin, and after dragging my feet for a few years I am one of them.

The analysis by the NHS Services Business Authority reveals that there were 65 million prescriptions for atorvastatin last year in England alone, a 10 per cent increase on 2022, along with nearly 30 million more for other cholesterol-lowering drugs. The average cost per item (typically a month’s supply) was just £2.89, a far cry from the £25-30 that these types of drugs often cost before patents expired and competition from generic (unbranded) manufacturers drove prices down.