asked the Secretary of State for Social Services which appetite suppressants are supplied through the National Health Service.

A doctor may prescribe any appetite suppressant drug which he considers appropriate for a patient.

Will the Minister of State say what value the medical profession places on these preparations how much they are costing the National Health Service, and whether we should subsidise self-indulgence in this way?

The cost to the National Health Service is £2½ million a year. The British National Formulary, which my Department issues free to all doctors, says that:

"appetite suppressant drugs have little place in the management of the obese patient and there is no substitute for will-power".

This statement was quoted prominently in a circular to doctors issued by my Department last summer, in which reference was also made to the high cost of anorectic drugs.