Earlier this month, the Food and Drug Administration announced a national supply shortage of Adderall, a medication often used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy. The drug's scarcity is a problem that a greater share of younger than older Americans are aware of, according to a new YouGov poll.
That's primarily because 18- to 44-year-olds are more likely than people 45 and over to either personally have an Adderall prescription or know someone who does (38% vs. 14%). That finding is consistent with studies over the last decade that have shown increases in ADHD diagnoses and prescriptions for children.
People who are affected by the shortage are paying attention. Four in five Americans who know someone affected by the shortage have heard a lot or a little about it, as have 64% of Americans who know someone with an Adderall prescription.
Not everyone with an Adderall prescription is affected by the ongoing delays, however. While 24% of Americans know someone who has an Adderall prescription, just 13% say they know someone who will be personally affected by the shortage. For 18- to 44-year-olds, that rises to 37% who know someone with an Adderall prescription and 25% who know someone affected by the shortage.
The FDA has said that the shortfall can be traced back to intermittent manufacturing delays from a large Adderall manufacturer. When it comes to who is most responsible for the lack of supply, Americans are most likely to place at least some blame on U.S. drug producers (66%), followed by manufacturing delays (62%), among six possible causes asked about. Americans who either are affected by the problems or anticipate that they eventually will be affected by it are more likely to blame inflation (77%), manufacturing delays (71%), and the FDA (70%) than the U.S. drug producers (67%).
— Taylor Orth and Carl Bialik contributed to this article
This poll was conducted on October 21 - 24, 2022, among 1,000 U.S. adult citizens. Explore more on the methodology and data for this poll.
Image: Adobe Stock (OntheRun Photo)
