OTC Codeine harms on the rise
Rising demand for treatment for over-the-counter codeine misuse suggests more attention needs to be paid to the hazards of weaker opioids, drug researchers say.
Pharmaceutical opioid misuse was gaining ground on heroin-related harms, according to the latest figures on opioid-related presentations to drug treatment services.
And for the first time, a rise in treatment for codeine misuse has been revealed, according to data from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre.
The findings were of particular interest considering OTC codeine accounts for an overwhelming majority of codeine-related treatment presentations, according to previous Australian research.
"Codeine has been flying under the radar. It's almost impossible to get good data on how much OTC codeine is being sold," said co-author Associate Professor Nicholas Lintzeris, from the University of Sydney's department of addiction medicine.
"Doctors aren't involved and patients don't even consider it to be medication because it's not prescription, so they won't tell their doctors they're taking them and there's no way to track patients," said Professor Lintzeris, from the Drug and Alcohol Services in Surry Hills.
The authors said screening and brief intervention at retail pharmacy level were needed to target this "growing problem".
"We need to look at pharmacist education and consumer education as well as regulatory changes" to limit the quantity and frequency of OTC codeine being sold to patients, Professor Lintzeris said.
Although heroin still accounted for the majority of opioid harms requiring treatment, according to the study the burden of pharmaceutical opioid abuse was rising.
Figures revealed an increase from 7% of presentations in 2002/03 to 20% in 2010/11, the researchers reported in Drug and Alcohol Dependence.
Patients experiencing pharmaceutical opioid-related events were more likely to be older, less likely to inject and more likely to report benzodiazepine misuse than those seeking treatment related to heroin use.
These findings supported the need for different treatment approaches to pharmaceutical opioid dependence, the authors reported.
Patients with such a dependence were also more likely to present to regional and remote health services, pointing to a need for greater resources and training in these settings, they added.
Reproduced from Australian Doctor 26/02/15
Marc's comment - That is why, when you come into our Pharmacy asking for Codeine containing pain relievers, our Pharmacists will always ask you a series of relevant, pointed questions so as to ascertain the most effective pain relief for your condition and to ultimately increase your health outcome.
This process is to aid your circumstances, not to hinder you. Please understand our professional responsibility and our sincere wish to help you to better health.
