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Australians misusing painkillers
Figures have shown that 75% of recent painkiller/opioid misusers in Australia reported misusing an over-the-counter codeine product in 2016. This follows recent news that drug-induced deaths in Australia are at their highest rates in almost two decades, with opioids killing more people than illicit drugs methamphetamines and heroin.
Recent figures show that more Australians are misusing painkillers
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s (AIHW) National Drug Strategy household survey: Detailed findings 2016, about one in 20 Australians (4.8%) reported misusing pharmaceuticals and one in 27 (3.6%) had misused painkillers/opiates.
The survey also revealed a significant rise in mental illness among methamphetamine and ecstasy users, with 27% of people who used an illicit drug in the previous year having been diagnosed or treated for a mental illness, an increase from 21% in 2013.
‘In 2016, 42% of methamphetamine users had a mental illness, up from 29% in 2013, while the rate of mental illness among ecstasy users also rose from 18% to 27%,’ AIHW spokesperson Matthew James said.
According to James, this situation represents something of a chicken–egg scenario.
‘Drug use is a complex issue and it’s difficult to determine to what degree drug use causes mental health problems, and to what degree mental health problems give rise to drug use,’ he said.
The AIHW figures also revealed a sharp increase in illicit drug use among people who identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual.
‘Homosexual and bisexual people were almost six times as likely as heterosexual people to use [ecstasy and methamphetamines], and were also about four times as likely to use cocaine as heterosexual people, and three times more likely to use cannabis or misuse pharmaceutical drugs,’ James said.
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