For the fourteenth consecutive year, the independent medical journal Prescribe has published its annual report on drugs to avoid. The 2026 edition identifies 108 active ingredients (of which 89 marketed in France and many also available in Italy) that present an unfavorable risk-benefit ratio. Simply put, they are more dangerous than useful.
These drugs remain on the market despite their effectiveness often being minimal, comparable to that of a placebo, or inferior to safer alternatives. Meanwhile, they expose patients to possible serious side effects.
The four new entries for 2026
This year’s update added four new substances to the blacklist:
Other changes compared to 2025
Fenfluramine has been added to the list again. Despite a review of its use in Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, data confirm that the benefit-risk balance remains unfavorable. Reboxetine, a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor antidepressant, was also added due to its lower effectiveness compared to other antidepressants and side effects such as sexual disturbances and loss of appetite.
Then there is Phloroglucinol (Spasfon) which enters the list due to uncertain efficacy and risk of serious allergic reactions, including Lyell’s syndrome. Particularly not recommended for pregnant women. However, Ulipristal was removed from the list after the withdrawal of its authorization in the EU, due to serious liver effects which in some cases required liver transplantation.
The list of drugs to avoid
Below is the list of drugs to avoid divided by therapeutic category.
Oncology, transplants and hematology
Cardiology
Dermatology and allergology
Pain and rheumatology
Muscle relaxants
Gastroenterology
Gynecology and endocrinology
Infectious disease
Neurology
Pneumology and otolaryngology
Psychiatry
Medicines to quit smoking
Urology
Other categories
Why are these drugs still on sale?
The question arises: if these medicines are so dangerous, why do they continue to be marketed? Second Prescribe:
Companies persist in selling them for profit, and health authorities either fail to intervene or appear powerless to remove them from the market.
Prescrire’s annual report was created precisely to fill this information gap, providing doctors and patients with the tools to make more informed and safer choices. In many cases, there are more effective and less risky therapeutic alternatives.
The methodology of Prescribing
Prescrire ratings are based on:
What to do if you take one of these drugs?
If you are taking one of the drugs on this list, do not stop treatment on your own. Talk to your doctor, who will evaluate with you the possibility of switching to a safer alternative or whether in your case the benefits of these drugs outweigh the risks (and only a doctor who knows the whole situation well can evaluate this).
