Young people in China are increasingly misusing prescription medications as a coping mechanism for exam stress and social pressure, prompting government intervention and raising concerns about an underlying mental health crisis.
Chinese teenagers are increasingly abusing prescription drugs to escape the intense pressure of academic competition, according to reporting from the BBC. Young people are purchasing medications intended for conditions like epilepsy and chronic pain through online platforms, often without prescriptions, seeking the numbing sensations these drugs produce. The problem has become widespread enough that authorities launched a nationwide crackdown two years ago on cough suppressants commonly misused by young people, classifying the medication as a controlled psychotropic drug.
The driving force behind this trend appears to be intense academic competition and family expectations. Many students attend elite classes with elimination systems that remove underperforming students, creating extreme pressure to succeed. Sociologist Xiang Biao from the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology attributes some of this stress to China's one-child policy, which ended in 2016 but left many families placing all their hopes on a single child. Students report using drugs to cope with exam anxiety, failed tests, and family conflicts. Worryingly, experts have noted a concerning link between prescription drug abuse and self-harm among young people in online communities.
Government efforts to control the problem face persistent challenges. When authorities restrict access to one drug, teenagers quickly switch to alternatives, sometimes using coded language online to evade detection. A 2025 Crime Prevention Institute paper notes that non-regulated substances remain easy to acquire in China, which produces the majority of the world's pharmaceutical ingredients. Despite official statistics showing a 41 percent drop in newly identified drug users under 35, authorities acknowledge prescription drug misuse among minors is surging.
Experts argue that addressing the underlying mental health crisis is more important than supply-side enforcement. A 2023 study found that nearly 95 million Chinese people suffer from depression, with over 30 percent under 18 years old. The government has initiated mental health support programs, including counsellor positions in schools and plans to establish a nationwide psychological support system by 2030. However, significant shortages remain, particularly of child and adolescent psychiatrists. A 2020 study cited in The Lancet identified only 500 qualified child psychiatrists in the country, mostly concentrated in major cities.
