Painkiller deaths on the rise

Preliminary figures indicate that deaths from the drugs increased from 500 in 2008 to more than 700 in 2010, analysis from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at the University of New South Wales has found.

The study leader, Amanda Roxburgh, said the upward trend in deaths was the first since the heroin drought began in 2001.

But heroin deaths only accounted for about 30 per cent of the deaths in the study, with the rest due to opioids such as the painkillers oxycodone and morphine.

"On the one hand you have got people who have stayed in the heroin market and certainly in some markets, particularly in New South Wales, they have moved to other opioids and injecting opioids," she said. "On the other hand we also have this much larger pool of prescription opioids that are actually being genuinely prescribed for genuine conditions, which may well be contributing."

Ms Roxburgh said the same period had also seen an increase in accidental deaths from the drugs, which often involved the ingestion of more than one type of drug or alcohol.

"People can have complex underlying health issues and might also be on multiple drugs, and I guess what also happens is people might try to medicate themselves," she said.

Victoria accounted for the highest proportion of deaths, followed by NSW.

Ms Roxburgh, a senior researcher with the NDARC, cautioned that the figures from 2009 and 2010 could be revised by the Bureau of Statistics.

But she said the clear evidence of a rise in 2008 – from 360 deaths to 500 – was certain. In particular, the numbers of deaths among people aged between 45 and 54 had been increasing since 2004, the figures show.

She said the results could reflect the fact painkillers usually reserved for cancer treatment were now more commonly used to treat other chronic pain. The increase in deaths did not mean the drugs should not be prescribed, but that more education was needed, Ms Roxburgh said.