A TAMWORTH general practitioner who sees codeine addiction on a daily basis, has welcomed the national move to tighten the control of codeine-based medications.
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His comments come as the federal government's medicines regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration considers reclassifying the likes of Nurofen Plus and Panadeine Extra because of the risk of harm, addiction or overdose, arguing they are serious enough to warrant them becoming prescription- only medications.
Tamworth GP Ian Kamerman said codeine addiction was widespread in the community and he saw affected patients on a daily basis.
He said making doctors the gatekeepers to codeine-based painkillers was a "fantastic idea".
“The therapeutic dose of codeine to relieve pain is 30 milligrams, while the codeine available over the counter is about 10 milligrams, which makes it ineffective for treating pain,” Dr Kamerman said.
He said over-the-counter codeine had all the addictive qualities of the drug without the added benefit of relieving pain.
“There is little evidence it reduces pain and there is lots of evidence it is addictive,” Dr Kamerman said.
“To get the 30 milligrams of codeine you have to take three prepared (over-the-counter) tablets – and in doing that, you are actually taking a toxic dose of the other ingredients in the tablet.”
Dr Kamerman said pain was a serious condition and people with severe pain should seek the assistance of a doctor, rather than trying to mask it with medication.
Codeine is not available over-the-counter in the US or most of Europe and, like heroin, is an opioid that can be addictive.
The TGA said in its interim report the abuse of codeine was on the rise in Australia and noted its “relative lack of efficacy compared to safer products”.
According to government data from 2013, 1038 Australians were being treated for codeine addiction, but the TGA said the data was incomplete and the real number was likely to be higher.
“Another recently published study of 902 people who inject illicit drugs found that about one-third had misused over-the-counter codeine during the preceding six months,” the TGA report noted.
A final decision will be made in November, with a view to moving to prescriptions for products such as Nurofen Plus and Panadeine Extra by June next year at the earliest.
