A new report shows the number of accidental drug overdoses in Tasmania is increasing — the vast majority from prescriptions — and advocates warn overdoses can affect people from all walks of life.
More Tasmanians have died from unintentional drug overdoses over the past five years than in car crashes, according to a new report.New figures show 182 Tasmanians died from unintentional drug overdoses from 2014 to 2018Wrongly taken or mixed prescription drugs are behind the majority of unintentional overdoses
Prescription medications are behind most accidental overdoses in Tasmania, the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Council says. "No matter the circumstances of people's drug use, it is our collective responsibility to keep them safe." • 47 unintentional overdose deaths involving pharmaceutical opioids such as oxycodone and codeine in the five years from 2014-18, compared with 38 in the five years from 2004 to 2008
"There are stories that we're aware of where individuals will be taking just one medication like an opiate medication over a long period of time, they develop a tolerance to that and then they might be too hesitant to speak to their GP because they start modifying their own medication.
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