A joint letter to Australia's health ministers penned by doctors' groups, Pain Australia and the Consumers Health Forum has been made public, with the organisations reiterating the Therapeutic Goods Administration's key findings from the review of codeine use.
The letter expresses concerns about the Guild's alternative approach, and was referred to by RACGP president Bastian Seidel (PD yesterday) when he aggressively accused the Guild of "chequebook lobbying" on the issue.
Key factors noted include the ineffectiveness of codeine for the treatment of long-term pain; serious risks associated with codeine such as death, toxicity and dependence; and the availability of combination ibuprofen and paracetamol OTC medications that have been found to be more effective than codeine analgesics.
The letter warns that a decision by any state or territory not to implement nationally consistent scheduling controls "would have serious and far reaching implications that could affect public confidence in the ability of that government to protect public health and safety".
The letter can be viewed on the Royal Australian College of Physicians website at racp.edu.au.
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