Intended for healthcare professionals

Letters Overprescribing and opioid crisis

Opioids are not just an American problem

BMJ 2017; 359 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.j5514 (Published 06 December 2017) Cite this as: BMJ 2017;359:j5514
  1. Meghna Jani, NIHR academic clinical lecturer in rheumatology,
  2. William G Dixon, director and professor of digital epidemiology
  1. Arthritis Research UK Centre for Epidemiology, Centre for Musculoskeletal Research, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, UK
  1. meghna.jani{at}manchester.ac.uk

The rise in opioid prescriptions and mortality in the US1 has shone a light on similar concerns in the UK. Opioid prescriptions for non-cancer pain rose by about 60% in the UK from 2000 to 2010.2

With more use comes a larger burden of side effects, dependency, and divergence. The number of deaths related to opioid misuse in England and Wales …

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