The 2018 ban on over-the-counter sales of codeine has not led to increased prescribing of higher strength codeine or switching of patients to other pharmaceutical opioids, PBS figures show.
In fact, overall opioid prescribing in Australia has declined since codeine was rescheduled contrary to fears expressed by some groups.
The up-scheduling of codeine by the TGA to prescription-only status in February 2018 was strongly resisted by pharmacy trade groups who warned that the removal of annual sales of 15.5 million packets of codeine would lead to increases in use of higher-dose prescription codeine products or other prescribed opioids.
But an analysis of PBS data by Monash University researchers has found no increasing trend for prescribed codeine or combined opioid supply during or after 2018.
The PBS data also showed a continuing declining trends in prescribing of most Schedule 8 pharmaceutical opioids such as oxycodone, tramadol, morphine, and fentanyl between 2016 and 2018, with no change after codeine rescheduling.
Only tapentadol showed a modest increase in prescribing over this time period, the researchers reported in the International Journal of Drug Policy.