“The people who say they use it every week are exactly those who shouldn’t be, but the majority using it safely are not being taken into consideration.” Turnbull said TGA statistics showed about 80% of codeine consumers bought only 20% of the volume, meaning the majority were using it safely, but the figures suggested possible inappropriate use among the other 20% of consumers. “A bureaucracy telling them ‘No, you can’t have that’ won’t be well received.” “Lots of people use codeine safely and appropriately to deal with migraines, toothache and period pain,” he said. It’s scary to look for an alternative think won’t be effective.īennett is less concerned about stockpiling, because some drug companies have stopped supplying over-the-counter variants and pharmacies have stopped ordering them, so they are already unavailable in many chemists.Ī spokesman for the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, Greg Turnbull, said “a lot of consumers are not happy about it at all”, with big spikes in complaints after media reports on the ban. It’s very difficult if you’re reliant on codeine for pain relief. “One of the around codeine use is it does create a dependence. “If you’re using codeine for longer than three days, that should be a wake-up call: what else do I need to be doing to manage my pain?” she said. The chief executive of Pain Australia, Carol Bennett, said the campaign’s message was that “codeine is not particularly effective for long-term chronic pain”. Pain Australia is running a campaign, Real Relief, that argues alternatives are more effective and prepares consumers for the impending ban. “It’s not the outcome we wanted but it’s what happens when you give people notice of an impending ban.” “There is some evidence they are buying as many packets as they can get their hands on,” she said.
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