Painkiller epidemic in UK is “public health disaster.”

For the UK opiate fiends in denial that their country/continent has an opiate/opioid problem too.

'Unnecessary' painkillers could leave thousands addicted, doctors warn

The Faculty of Pain Medicine and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society said they were worried about the high and growing use of opioid drugs such as codeine and tramadol – while other experts warn that hundreds of thousands of patients could be addicted to them.

Doctors have warned about the numbers of people in Britain who may be addicted to these drugs as a result, with recent estimates suggesting over 192,000 could be dependent, partly because some medics prescribe them too readily.

[link to www.theguardian.com (secure)]

Addiction to prescription drugs is UK ‘public health disaster’

Addiction to prescribed medicines could be as big a problem in the UK as addiction to illegal drugs like heroin. So say a group of UK doctors and politicians, who have called for urgent action to help people who get hooked on painkillers, antidepressants and anti-anxiety medicines like Valium.

Although opioids are the best analgesics for people with cancer or in short-term severe pain, in the long term the drugs become ineffective and can sensitise pain nerves, meaning that over time non-painful stimuli become painful. As well as disrupting sleep, prolonged use also puts people at risk of infections and accidental overdoses. But they also make you feel good and if people try to cut down they end up with flu-like withdrawal symptoms (see “How I got addicted to painkillers”).

[link to www.newscientist.com (secure)]

Fentanyl Adds Deadly Kick to Opioid Woes in Britain

Britain already has Europe’s highest proportion of heroin addicts, and last year, drug-related deaths hit a record high in England and Wales, with 3,744 deaths mainly from heroin and other opioids.

[link to www.nytimes.com (secure)]

Last Edited by Daers on 01/07/2019 05:07 PM