Life
Israelis among world's leading consumers of addictive painkillers
New report says
Israelis appear to be one of the biggest consumers of addictive painkillers in the developed world, with the latest report from the OECD ranking
According to the report, some 87,000 people in
Meanwhile, in the
"Pharmacists say they definitely feel the sharp increase in the demand for painkillers," said David Papo, chairman of the Pharmaceutical Association of Israel. "We’ve become aware of the issue around two years ago, around the time when the worrisome date on addictive painkillers in the
The OECD report also reveals that the number of painkiller-related deaths has increased. In the
“This is a large-scale epidemic, the magnitudes of which are not fully understood by the medical authorities in
Papo said the problem stems partly from the easiness with which the doctors’ prescribe the pain medication at a patient’s request. "It's an elephant in a room that nobody talks about, but doctors prescribe addictive drugs too easily,” he said. “The medical bodies don’t like confronting drug companies and are reluctant to limit doctors' ability to prescribe painkillers … we need to do something before it's too late."
"The Ministry of Health must demand severe warnings be placed on the medication’s packaging and demand the patients sign a form, saying they are aware of the risk of addiction involved with taking the drug."
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