Top UK experts have issued a major safety warning over a common anti-anxiety drug popular with young patients, following a string of fatal overdoses.
The pill, called propranolol, belongs to a group of medicines called beta blockers and works by slowing down a patient’s heart rate.
It’s typically prescribed for high blood pressure and other heart problems, but it can also help alleviate the physical symptoms of anxiety, like sweating and shaking.
But doctors from the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Pharmacy have called for a ban on offering the drug as an anxiety treatment following a series of fatal overdoses.
In 2022-2023 alone, more than 300 UK patients took an intentional overdose of the drug, resulting in 12 deaths.
The warning comes amid a surge in prescriptions for the medication, with scripts rising by more than 92 per cent in girls aged 12 to 17-years-old over the last decade, reaching 1.1million in 2025.
Prescribing rates have also surged by more than 81 per cent in women aged 18 to 23 in a decade.
The vast majority of patients included in these figures – obtained via FOI request – were given propranolol to treat anxiety.
Harry Potter star Emma Watson also admitted to taking beta blockers once to handle red carpet nerves – but says she regrets taking the medication and took a break from acting to save her immune system
Now, in response to the alerts issued by the Royal Colleges, drug safety watchdog the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) will review the available data on the harms of propranolol and the risk of overdose.
In the letter, co-chairs of the Royal Colleges Dr Zuzanna Sawicka and pharmacy specialist Kate Ryan said that propranolol was ‘of no proven efficacy for treatment of generalised anxiety’, and therefore the benefits do not justify the serious risks.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) also does not list beta blockers as a treatment for the mood disorder, but doctors can prescribe it ‘off-label’.
The experts believe that GPs have been led to believe that beta blockers are less risky than alternatives like benzodiazepines such as Valium, which work by slowing down brain activity and are known to be highly addictive.
But, in reality, if recommended doses are exceeded, ‘propranolol poisoning is life-threatening, difficult to treat, and results in a significant number of deaths,’ they said.
‘Patients at increased risk of overdose, such as those taking antidepressant medicines, and those who have already taken an overdose, continue to be prescribed propranolol.
‘The MHRA has the power to reduce the harm from propranolol poisoning by changing [the warnings],’ they added.
Prescriptions for anti-anxiety medication have soared in recent years – driven mainly by increases among young women and adolescents.
There has also been a cultural shift, with celebrities including Khloe Kardashian, Dame Prue Leith, Emma Watson, Robert Downey Jr. and Rachel Sennott all speaking out about taking beta blockers for anxiety.
At the 2025 Oscars, actress Rachel Sennott admitted to taking the medication on the red carpet
There has been a cultural shift, with celebrities including Dame Prue Leith, former The Great British Bake Off Star, speaking out about taking beta blockers for anxiety and stage fright
Rachel Sennott – who starred in Shiva Baby and HBO’s I Love LA – told an interviewer at the 2025 Oscars that her pre-event routine involves taking beta blockers.
In 2024, while accepting his Golden Globe award for best supporting actor, Robert Downey Jr admitted that he had taken a beta blocker beforehand.
And in 2023, former Bake Off judge Dame Prue Leith said that she ‘persuaded’ her doctor to give her the drug to help her overcome stage fright when she began touring the live show.
Like the majority of medications, however, beta blockers are not suitable for everyone.
Common symptoms include tiredness, dizziness and fainting and taking an inappropriate or high dose can cause a dangerously slow heart rate.
And the risks are greater when medicines come from unregulated sources.
The rationale for the long-term use of beta blockers has also been disputed, with experts recommending that anxiety patients only take the pills for a short amount of time.
Stopping propranolol suddenly, however, can exacerbate heart problems and trigger extra side effects including an irregular heart rate, sweating and shaking.
Before taking the medication, patients should check in with their doctors, as some who suffer from conditions like asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are at a higher risk for certain side effects and potential complications.
