poledriver
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Common prescription drugs behind a wave of Australian overdose deaths
MIDDLE aged and older Australians are in the grip of an unprecedented drug crisis.
New data obtained by the Herald Sun reveals a surge in deaths among older Australians, with almost eight in 10 accidental overdose deaths now men and women aged 30-59.
The figures challenge the traditional image of drug deaths being young people overdosing on illegal drugs in inner city drug hot spots.
Rather it is the middle aged and older, particularly men, and increasingly those in regional Australia who are overdosing on common prescription painkillers such as oxycodone and benzodiazepines.
And Victoria has experienced one of the biggest rises in rural overdose deaths, up a whopping 48 per cent in one year.
A report by the Penington Institute using data prepared by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, compares drug deaths across a decade to 2014 — the most recent year for which figures are available.
“The data suggests that older Australians are facing an unprecedented overdose crisis,” Penington Institute CEO John Ryan said.
“If the current trend continues, in five years the age of people most likely to die of overdose will be those aged 50 to 59.”
All these families are suffering in silence
In 2014, 1136 people died of accidental overdoses and next year, for the first time, that number is on track to outstrip the national road toll, and to more than double the 705 deaths recorded in 2004 the following year.
Currently Australians aged 40-49 are the most likely to die of an accidental overdose, with 342 deaths nationally in 2014, followed closely by those aged 30-39, 304 deaths, and 50-59 year olds, 238 deaths.
“These grim figures underscore just how severe the overdose epidemic is right now in Australia,” Mr Ryan said.
“Action needs to be taken to address this public health crisis.”
Mr Ryan said it was time for Governments to make significant funds available to reduce the toll.
“When you consider the kinds of investment that has been put into reducing the road toll the question is whether a similar investment will be made to better educate the community about the risk of overdose,” he said.
“We are calling for that investment.”
Tramadol is commonly taken for moderate to severe pain.
St Kilda-based Salvation Army social worker and founder of this week’s UN-backed International Overdose Awareness Day Sally Finn said her experience was that the trend identified by the Penington report has continued unabated in the past two years.
Ms Finn said while street drugs like “ice” remained a real problem the Salvos had seen a marked ageing of drug takers contacting its crisis services.
And 16 years since organising the first overdose awareness day, Ms Finn said Australians were still reticent to discuss the issue.
“All these families are suffering in silence,” she said.
“We are yet to have a really big discussion around overdose and across all sectors of the community and what will help to lower that rate.”
Cont -
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/vi...daaa9b9dabc8401dde47ab4475?platform=hootsuite
MIDDLE aged and older Australians are in the grip of an unprecedented drug crisis.
New data obtained by the Herald Sun reveals a surge in deaths among older Australians, with almost eight in 10 accidental overdose deaths now men and women aged 30-59.
The figures challenge the traditional image of drug deaths being young people overdosing on illegal drugs in inner city drug hot spots.
Rather it is the middle aged and older, particularly men, and increasingly those in regional Australia who are overdosing on common prescription painkillers such as oxycodone and benzodiazepines.
And Victoria has experienced one of the biggest rises in rural overdose deaths, up a whopping 48 per cent in one year.
A report by the Penington Institute using data prepared by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, compares drug deaths across a decade to 2014 — the most recent year for which figures are available.
“The data suggests that older Australians are facing an unprecedented overdose crisis,” Penington Institute CEO John Ryan said.
“If the current trend continues, in five years the age of people most likely to die of overdose will be those aged 50 to 59.”
All these families are suffering in silence
In 2014, 1136 people died of accidental overdoses and next year, for the first time, that number is on track to outstrip the national road toll, and to more than double the 705 deaths recorded in 2004 the following year.
Currently Australians aged 40-49 are the most likely to die of an accidental overdose, with 342 deaths nationally in 2014, followed closely by those aged 30-39, 304 deaths, and 50-59 year olds, 238 deaths.
“These grim figures underscore just how severe the overdose epidemic is right now in Australia,” Mr Ryan said.
“Action needs to be taken to address this public health crisis.”
Mr Ryan said it was time for Governments to make significant funds available to reduce the toll.
“When you consider the kinds of investment that has been put into reducing the road toll the question is whether a similar investment will be made to better educate the community about the risk of overdose,” he said.
“We are calling for that investment.”
Tramadol is commonly taken for moderate to severe pain.
St Kilda-based Salvation Army social worker and founder of this week’s UN-backed International Overdose Awareness Day Sally Finn said her experience was that the trend identified by the Penington report has continued unabated in the past two years.
Ms Finn said while street drugs like “ice” remained a real problem the Salvos had seen a marked ageing of drug takers contacting its crisis services.
And 16 years since organising the first overdose awareness day, Ms Finn said Australians were still reticent to discuss the issue.
“All these families are suffering in silence,” she said.
“We are yet to have a really big discussion around overdose and across all sectors of the community and what will help to lower that rate.”
Cont -
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/vi...daaa9b9dabc8401dde47ab4475?platform=hootsuite
