Pain Drug Restrictions Recommended

A MEDICINES watchdog is calling for tighter prescribing restrictions on two popular painkillers, amid concerns over links to suicide and accidental overdose.

Britain’s medicines regulator withdrew the painkiller co- proxamol last year, saying its risks outweighed its benefits. The drug was popular for conditions such as back pain and arthritis.

Co-proxamol is not available in New Zealand, but Capadex and Paradex contain the same ingredients and are widely used, with about 200,000 prescriptions a year. Their most potent ingredient, dextropropoxyphene, was found to be the main cause of death in eight reported opioid-related poisonings in 2001-02, and was implicated in eight other overdose deaths.

After weighing up evidence and submissions, New Zealand’s Medicines Adverse Reactions Committee has recommended keeping the drugs, but restricting their use. It also recommended a further review of the risk of overdose.

There was no published evidence that the painkillers were more effective than paracetamol but New Zealand palliative care and pain experts, and family doctors reported that the drugs played a useful role in pain relief and asked that they be retained.