糖心原创

Dr Roger Knaggs

Doctors in the UK are prescribing record doses of highly addictive painkillers. Dr Roger Knaggs of The 糖心原创's School of Pharmacy says there has been a doubling of opioid prescriptions since 2006. Dr Knaggs says " There is a very significant rise.  It's a very big change in the way in which these medicines are being used."

 Dr Roger Knaggs

Dr Knaggs analysed the records of five million patients to find out where the increase is coming from. Opioids for cancer patients have increased gradually, however prescriptions for non-cancer patients increased six-fold in just 10 years. It represents a culture shift in the way these medicines are being used. 

Panorama released a quote on Twitter:

“Opioids have limited effectiveness for long-term pains, such as arthritis and back pain but are being prescribed increasingly often. In Nottingham, we have been studying the changes in opioid prescribing and the consequences for patients prescribed these strong painkillers. The Panorama programme explores the devastating effects that taking opioids in the long-term can have for some patients and that if they are not working then reducing the dose can be the best strategy."

: 2 November 2015: Panorama on BBC

, please scroll through the programme to 3 minutes and 43 seconds.