Australia’s transition to prescription-only codeine has seen a 50 percent reduction in the monthly rate of codeine-related poisoning calls and has halved codeine sales.
A study by the University of Sydney is a world-first and cited an abrupt drop in codeine related poisonings since the removal of the medication in February 2018.
Lead author Dr Rose Cairns said the study did not show an increase in poisonings with higher-strength codeine or stronger opioids.
“There were big reductions in sales of low-strength codeine, with no increase in sales of higher strength codeine, Dr Cairns said.