This week the authorities took a step in combatting one of the biggest drug problems the nation has.
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We are not talking about ice or heroin or a sinisterly well-organised underworld, but rather the misuse of drugs which we inflict on ourselves within the law; self medication and the troubling recurrence of addiction to painkillers. The steps are relatively small but it may mean big changes in the way we consume some of the stronger over-the-counter drugs.
From February 2018, pain-relieving medicines containing codeine will only be available with a prescription, the nation’s largest medicines regulator, the TGA, has decided.
Whichever way you look at it, the quick dash down to the pharmacy when you have a common affliction like the flu or many other everyday ailments now got a lot harder.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration maintains the extra layer of control is based on evidence of overuse and abuse of over-the-counter codeine medicines. The TGA asserts that the rise of self-medication by users of these easily accessible drugs to treat chronic pain has frequently led to addiction, while the medicines had never been intended to treat long-term ailments.
Doctors, who will see a lot more quick requests for these medicines, have welcomed the change and argue people will get the medical advice and direction they need, particularly for long-term ailments, rather than risk the perils of internet medical searches and self-medication.
But the change in the regime means more than just inconvenience for frequent users, including the possibility of added costs to the vulnerable and elderly who are most likely to need the help.
Pharmacists have already argued the extra paperwork associated with prescriptions will inflate the prices, including a $7 fee the federal government pays pharmacists to dispense subsidised medicines.
Pharmacists say it is unfair on the 98 per cent of Australians who use the drugs responsibly.
But perhaps even more troubling is the belief of pharmacists that while it may make things harder for genuine users, those who abuse the medications will simply revert to “doctor shopping” to gain access. This potentially means they will join, rather than diminish, the widespread problems around these secret everyday addictions.