Australian Prescription Drug Abuse Statistics

Prescription Drug Abuse Statistics

In Australia, two categories of prescription drugs are most commonly abused: Benzodiazepines and Analgesics. Benzodiazepines are minor tranquilisers and are most often prescribed by doctors to relieve anxiety or help people sleep. Benzodiazepines include drugs under the popular brand names Valium, Xanax, and Serepax.

Analgesics are medications used to relieve pain. Opioid analgesics such as codeine and oxycodone are the most commonly abused analgesics due to their ability to create sensations of euphoria. Those who are prescribed strong medications such as opioids or benzodiazepines can become dependent on these drugs without intentionally misusing them, as tolerance can develop and people will need to take more and more over time. However, prescription drug addiction occurs most frequently with the non-medical use of prescription drugs. Non-medical use is when people take prescriptions outside of their intended use, including taking a drug not prescribed to you, taking more than prescribed, or crushing, chewing, or otherwise misusing a prescription medication.

Approximately 4.5% of Australians 14 years or older have used tranquilizers or sleeping pills including benzodiazepines for non-medical purposes at some point in their life.

The non-medical use of analgesics is even more common, as almost 8% of Australians over the age of 14 have abused analgesics at some point in their life and 3.3% have done so in the past 12 months. Among young Australians aged 14-24 the average age they first try an analgesic for non-medical use is 15 years old.

Pain medications are the most commonly used drug, either licit or illicit, among 12-17 year olds. Four percent of 12-17 year olds take analgesics from home without permission and 3% buy them. This trend is especially frightening, as the younger people are when they experiment with addictive drugs, the more likely they are to develop drug addiction in the future.