Codeine use and harms in Australia: evaluating the effects of re-scheduling.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Globally, codeine is the most-used opioid. In December 2016, Australia announced that low-strength codeine (≤ 15 mg) would be re-scheduled and no longer available for purchase over-the-counter; this was implemented in February 2018. We aimed to evaluate the effect of this scheduling change on codeine misuse and use and misuse of other opioids. DESIGN AND SETTING: Interrupted time-series analysis of monthly opioid exposure calls to New South Wales Poisons Information Centre (NSWPIC, captures 50% of Australia's poisoning calls), January 2015- January 2019 and monthly national codeine sales, March 2015-March 2019. We incorporated a washout period (January 2017 - January 2018) between the announcement and implementation, when prescriber/consumer behaviour may have been influenced. PARTICIPANTS: Intentional opioid overdoses resulting in a call to NSWPIC. MEASUREMENTS: We used linear segmented regression to identify abrupt changes in level and slope of fitted lines. Codeine poisonings and sales were stratified into high strength (> 15 mg per dose unit) and low strength (≤ 15 mg). Only low-strength formulations were re-scheduled. FINDINGS: We observed an abrupt -50.8 percentage [95% confidence interval (CI) = -79.0 to -22.6%] level change in monthly codeine-related poisonings and no change in slope in the 12 months after February 2018. There was no increase in calls to the NSWPIC for high-strength products, level change: -37.2% (95% CI = -82.3 to 8%) or non-codeine opioids, level change: -4.4% (95% CI = -33.3 to 24.4%). Overall, the re-scheduling resulted in a level change in opioid calls of -35.8% calls/month (95% CI = -51.2 to -20.4%). Low-strength codeine sales decreased by 87.3% (95% CI = -88.5 to -85.9%), with no increase in high-strength codeine sales in the 14 months following re-scheduling, -4.0% (95% CI = -19.6 to 14.6%). CONCLUSIONS: Codeine re-scheduling in Australia appears to have reduced codeine misuse and sales.

Changes in Australian prescription opioid use following codeine rescheduling: A retrospective study using pharmaceutical benefits data.

PURPOSE: In February 2018, Australia up-scheduled the 'weak' opioid codeine to a prescription only medication. This study aimed to analyse the change in prescribing trends for codeine and other commonly prescribed opioids in Australia following this policy change to determine if removal of over-the-counter codeine resulted in an increase in opioid prescribing. METHODS: Data was obtained through the Australian Government Department of Human Services statistics website, and contained monthly data about subsidised national prescription numbers for codeine, oxycodone, oxycodone-naloxone, tapentadol, tramadol, morphine, and fentanyl, from January 2016 to December 2018. Segmented linear regression accounting for autocorrelation was used to assess the effect of codeine rescheduling on the supply trends of these opioids. RESULTS: Rescheduling codeine to remove over-the-counter (non-prescription) supply does not appear to have had an immediate effect on the prescription rates of codeine, and there is no significant change in these rates in the months following. Analysis of data showed decreasing trends for codeine and most other schedule 8 prescription opioids, with no increase in any prescribed opioids associated with codeine up scheduling. CONCLUSIONS: Despite concerns, substitution of over-the-counter codeine with higher strength prescribed codeine has not been observed at a population level, nor has a shift to other prescribed opioids occurred. Overall, opioid prescribing in Australia has been decreasing since 2016, both for strong and weak opioids.