A NEW clinic to help wean regular users off over-the-counter codeine products has been established on the Tweed ahead of the easy-to-reach pills moving to a prescription only model from next year.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) announced in December its decision to ban the sale of products with codeine over the counter, following similar cessation in the US, most of Europe, Hong Kong, Japan and UAE.

The changes, which come into force in February 2018, are aimed at reducing the growing addiction to codeine and means painkillers with codeine will no longer be available for purchase without a doctor's script.

Dr Les Blackstock said many people in the community had, over a period of time, developed a dependency on codeine-based products, like Nurofen, because they hadn't addressed their underlying problem.

"People will develop dependency for chronic pain and then they'll find if the pain develops a life of its own they're more willing to want to take over-the-counter medications,” Dr Blackstock said.

"There will be a lot of push back from pharmacies to say 'you've got to see a doctor' but there will be a lot of people out there who, over the years, have slowly developed a dependency.

"When they say it's too hard to get a script, they'll start to feel terrible because they've developed a dependency of it.”

In 2014, the Victorian Coroner's court found prescription drugs were involved in 82% of that state's 384 overdose deaths, while the opioid used to treat pain was implicated in 48.4% of deaths.

To ensure people can regain control of their addictions, Dr Blackstock has set up an after hours clinic in the Tweed to help treat people with a dependency on pain relief medication.

"The idea with any dependency of medication is to get it controlled, then slowly wean it down but to wean it down you've got to address the underlying causes,” he said.

"My clinics are not wanting to be around for years, they're wanting to try to get control, make a plan and then let you get back to having a life.”

FAST FACTS

For information about Dr Les Blackstock's clinic, contact:

0405 362 862

info@phoenixpharmacotherapy.com.au