Doctor-shopping danger: Young kids are abusing drugs they don’t need
TENS of thousands of high school students have admitted to abusing pharmaceutical drugs, as doctors prescribe a record number of potent painkillers, new data has revealed.
NSW
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TENS of thousands of high school students have admitted to abusing pharmaceutical drugs, as doctors prescribe a record number of potent painkillers, new data has revealed.
The latest report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has exposed the extent of the prescription drug crisis, with one in 10 Australians admitting to abusing prescription medication.
Government data shows that the number of Australians misusing painkillers and opioids almost trebled in the three years from 2013 to 2016.
It has coincided with a surge in prescriptions for the painkiller oxycodone, an opioid from the same drug family as heroin, used to treat chronic pain.
In the year 2016, 3.7 million scripts for OxyContin were issued, a 67 per cent increase since 2011.
CRACKDOWN ON DRIVERS ON PRESCRIPTION PILLS
The latest figures also reveal that about 30,000 high school kids have admitted to using opoids, including children as young as 12.
Bee Ismail, chief executive of ScriptWise, a group aiming to reduce prescription medication misuse, said the latest data was consistent with trends she had observed in the community, reporting that high school students were increasingly turning to drugs such as valium and sleeping pills to cope with stress.
“I was personally shocked that children are doing this but they have been taught that it’s an option when you are stressed,” Ms Ismail said.
ScriptWise has urged the federal government to shift its focus away from illicit drugs, claiming prescription overdoses now account for more than 70 per cent of drug deaths in Australia.
Six years ago the government signed a licensing agreement with Tasmania to expand its successful drug monitoring program across Australia. But it still isn’t operating, allowing “doctor shopping” to continue