'Unnecessary' painkillers could leave thousands addicted, doctors warn

Prescriptions for powerful opioid painkillers have doubled from 12m to 24m in past decade, NHS Digital figures revealPrescription pain killers: share your stories with usPowerful and potentially addictive opiate painkillers are being handed out too readily, leading doctors have warned after it emerged that the number of times the drugs are being prescribed in the UK has doubled in the past decade.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.Continue reading...

Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - May 5, 2017 Category: Science Authors: Sarah Marsh Tags: Drugs Health UK news NHS Science Society Source Type: news