The prescription of pain medication among Irish patients, including highly addictive opioids, is rapidly rising, according to new research.

The use of opioids has increased by 25 per cent in Ireland, while the prescription of paracetamol rose 50 per cent between 2014-2022, according to a study published last week in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.

The prescription of even stronger medication, like codeine and opioids including tapentadol and oxycodone, is rising even higher.

This sharp increase in pain medication prescriptions by doctors in Ireland contrasts starkly with the approach in England, where the NHS is cracking down on the overuse of these potentially-addictive medicines.

Why are so many doctors prescribing this heavy-dose medication?

And is this growing reliance on opioids at risk of become an addiction crisis for patients seeking pain relief?

Today, on In The News, is Ireland heading towards an opioid addiction crisis?

Royal College of Surgeons Ireland (RCSI) associate professor Frank Moriarty, who co-authored the study into how pain is treated in Ireland, discusses the significant rise in opioid prescriptions.

Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Andrew McNair.

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