UK Corporate media is publishing scare stories about people becoming addicted to opioid painkillers.  Why?  Because they want to reduce palliative care and push people to accept euthanasia, Dr. Vernon Coleman says.

Last week, ITV publicised a study that claimed that many people who take opioid painkillers could become addicted.  “Concerns have been raised about the proportion of people who are hooked on [the drugs],” the news outlet said.

Bristol University researchers analysed 148 studies enrolling over 4.3 million adult chronic pain patients treated with prescription opioid painkillers.  Then divided them into four categories, depending on how the studies defined problematic opioid use.

On the same day as ITV, reporting on the same study, the Daily Mail wrote, “One in three people who take prescription painkillers show signs of addiction, a major analysis found. Experts said it suggests the scale of the problem is far greater than feared and called for tighter prescription guidelines.”

Opioids are a class of drugs that include both illegal and prescription medications. Opioids for medication include codeine, morphine, oxycodone and tramadol.

The claims that people who take painkillers are at a high risk of becoming addicted is nonsense, says Dr. Coleman and offers a possible explanation for the scare stories in the media.

By Dr. Vernon Coleman

The mainstream media has published claims that people who take opioid painkillers are much at risk of becoming addicted.

This is nonsense.

A new study of 148 pieces of research (involving 4.3 million adult chronic pain sufferers) showed that less than 1 in 10 developed dependence or opioid use disorder.

And I believe that even that figure is too high.

The Faculty of Pain Medicine at the Royal College of Anaesthetists says: “It is rare for people in pain to become addicted to opioids.”

Problems arise when patients are given painkillers that they don’t really need. And often patients aren’t told how to take their painkillers.

So why all the scary publicity?

I fear that the media scares are being used as an excuse for doctors to prescribe fewer painkillers. The scares are also being used to reduce palliative care and to promote euthanasia.

For the scary truth about euthanasia, please read Jack King’s extraordinary book which is entitled `They Want to Kill Us: Here’s How and Why’. CLICK HERE if you would like to buy this book.

And if you want to know more about pain control please read my book `Natural Pain Control’ which is available from the bookshop at http://www.vernoncoleman.com To buy a copy CLICK HERE

About the Author

Vernon Coleman MB ChB DSc practised medicine for ten years. He has been a full-time professional author for over 30 years. He is a novelist and campaigning writer and has written many non-fiction books.  He has written over 100 books which have been translated into 22 languages. On his website, www.vernoncoleman.com,  there are hundreds of articles which are free to read.