http://www.smh.com.au/federal-polit...-2017-after-ruling-delay-20151119-gl2yld.html
Common painkillers such as Panadeine and Nurofen Plus will be available over the counter for another year, after the Australian drug regulator was inundated by submissions from people opposed to the idea.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration last month made an interim decision that about 150 codeine products should not be available over the counter at pharmacies after next June. It said codeine was increasingly being abused and that reducing the pack size and drug labelling would not be enough to combat problems of misuse and dependence.
The regulator was expected to deliver its final ruling in late November but said on Thursday that this would not happen until June, due to what a spokesman called the "unusually large" number of submissions it had received.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration has delayed a decision on whether common painkillers such as Nurofen Plus should continue to be available over the counter.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration has delayed a decision on whether common painkillers such as Nurofen Plus should continue to be available over the counter.
Most of the 127 submissions on the interim ruling (113) were against the proposed change.
A representative of the Department of Health's secretary Martin Bowles said: "The deferral of a decision will allow the submissions and the subsequent information provided to be thoroughly considered."
Any decision to make the drugs prescription only would not happen before 2017. Medicines affected include Codral Original Cold and Flu tablets, Aspalgin Soluble tablets and a number of cough medications that can currently be bought at chemists.
Those opposed to the proposal argued that consumers could self-manage their pain and that pharmacists were qualified to manage the risk of abuse or misuse of the drugs. Some said there was no evidence of harm, abuse or dependency with codeine that contained cold and flu preparations. They also said the change would not resolve abuse of prescribed codeine.
Some of the ruling's supporters shared their personal stories of family members who had been addicted to codeine or abused over-the-counter analgesics and cough syrups. They also said there were alternative medicines that were also effective.
Research published in the Medical Journal of Australia last month found that codeine-related deaths had more than doubled between 2000 and 2009, from 3.5 to 8.7 per million.
The study by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at the University of NSW analysed more than 1000 deaths from the National Coronial Information System. Most codeine-related deaths between 2000 and 2013 were caused by a combination of drugs, including anti-depressants, alcohol and paracetamol, it found.
Senior researcher Amanda Roxburgh, who led the research, said that if more codeine products required a prescription, "there's an opportunity for health professionals to identify what the risks would be". While pharmacists were qualified to do this, she said this could stigmatise patients in a public setting.
Ms Roxburgh said more measures than the TGA's proposal were needed to help people more effectively manage chronic pain and reduce the risk that they would abuse or misuse painkillers. This included increasing people's access to specialist programs for pain management and substance dependence, which had long waiting lists.
Some of the deaths she studied were intentional. More than half of the people had suffered mental health problems, and one third having a history of chronic pain, she said, and some also had a history of substance abuse.
The Australian Medical Association and the Australian College of General Practitioners have backed the proposed change, with the college saying it could save lives. But the Pharmacy Guild of Australia believes it is unlikely to curb addiction and could disadvantage the majority who used the drugs safely.
I'am in shock that this has been pushed back.. power to the people
