Pharma misuse increases
July 18, 2014
SMOKING rates are down but
misuse of pharmaceuticals has
increased “significantly” according
to the 2013 National Drug Strategy
Household Survey.
The survey of almost 24,000
Australians released by the
Australian Institute of Health and
Welfare (AIHW) found illicit use
of drugs was increasing, with
misuse of pharmaceuticals having
increased from 4.2% in 2010 to
4.7% in 2013.
About 8m, or 42% of people
aged 14 or older had ever illicitly
used drugs, including misuse of
pharmaceuticals, with 3m having
done so in the last 12 months,
compared with about 2.7m in 2010.
Non-medical use of
pharmaceuticals in the past 12
months had increased overall since
2007 and was at the highest level
of use seen since 1998, when it was
just under 6.5%, the report found.
Use by men aged 30 to 39
increased from 4.5% to 6.9% and by
women aged 40 to 49 from 3.1% to
4.5%, fuelled this overall increase.
Of the 3.3% who had misused
recently with painkillers or
analgesics, about 75% had
misused OTC pain killers and 50%
prescription pain killers.
UNSW senior research officer and
National Drug and Alcohol Research
Centre National Drug Indicators
project manager Amanda Roxburgh
said a 0.5% increase in the misuse
of prescription pharmaceuticals
was significant at the population
level given the numbers involved.
“Although the difference in
consumption of pain killers and
analgesics from 2010 to 2013 was
not significant in and of itself, it
looks like this category is driving
the increase.”
She said that although there
had also been an increase in
consumption of opioid analgesics,
including OTC products,
Australia was still ranked ninth
internationally with the US first.
“With an increase in consumption
we’re likely to see an increase in
misuse.”
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