As it appears from IQVIA 2020 statistics, patients in the 21-40 age group receive a higher proportion of prescriptions for cannabis flowers than patients older than 41.
According to the report, patients aged 41 and older receive significantly more prescriptions for preparations containing cannabinoids. The authors argue that physicians involve younger patients more in treatment decisions and cannabis flowers are preferred by the younger age group. In this context, we looked at the statistics for smoking habits by age group in the German population and concluded that this observation can also be justified by patients’ own decisions regarding smoking habits in the different age groups.
Nevertheless, more and more patients are opting for cannabinoid-containing preparations, as only these can guarantee a standardized therapy, in contrast to smoking cannabis flowers. Furthermore, statistics on smoking habits show a tendency towards decreasing tobacco consumption among younger people. Accordingly, in the future we expect a change towards the use of cannabinoid-containing preparations (including full spectrum extracts) also among younger patients.
