As you’ve no doubt recently heard, there are calls to make codeine a prescription drug. It is currently an over the counter pain reliever and something that a lot of people routinely use. Chances are you have used it yourself and if so, you may wonder what all the fuss is about. A new report published in The Medical Observer says that for the decade 2000-2009 the number of deaths from taking codeine in Australia more than doubled. Here are some of the key points from the article:

• Almost half of these were judged to be accidental overdoses, which tells us it is a fairly strong drug to be taking, and you need to be careful about dosages.
• 83.7% were cases of multiple-drug toxicity, so be careful using codeine if you are taking other medications.
• 35.8% of cases involved people suffering chronic pain, which may suggest it is not a great medication to be taking long term.

If you are suffering pain it is usually a sign there is something wrong. Talk to your health professional before you go for medications to see if the pain can be relieved safely and naturally.