More older Aussies dying of overdoses

MIDDLE-aged and older Australians are dying of drug overdoses on an unprecedented scale.

New data exposing this public health crisis explodes the popular belief that overdoses kill mostly young illicit drug users.

Almost eight in 10 accidental overdose deaths are of people aged 30 to 59 using common prescription painkillers and tranquillisers.

Men, and increasingly those in regional areas, are particularly at risk. And Victoria experienced one of the biggest rises in rural overdose deaths: a whopping 48 per cent in a year.

A report by the Penington Institute, using data prepared by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, compares drug deaths across the decade to 2014 — the most recent year for which figures are available.

“The data suggests that older Australians are facing an unprecedented overdose crisis,” Penington Institute CEO John Ryan said. “If the current trend continues, in five years the age of people most likely to die of overdose will be those aged 50 to 59.”

In 2014, 1136 people died of accidental overdoses. The number next year could outstrip the national road toll for the first time, and the following year could more than double the 705 deaths recorded in 2004.

Accidental overdose deaths are most likely among those aged 40 to 49 — in 2014 there were 342 deaths, another 304 aged 30-39 died, as did 238 aged 50-59.

“When you consider the kinds of investment that have been put into reducing the road toll, the question is whether a similar investment will be made to better educate the community about the risk of overdose,” Mr Ryan said. “We are calling for that investment.” Addiction expert and Victorian Poisons Information Centre medical director Dr Shaun Greene said the immediate challenge was to find the resources to assess the large number of patients already taking high-dose painkillers, their risk factors, possible alternatives, and the need for intervention by addiction and chronic pain specialists. The Penington report shows overdose deaths of people in their 50s and 60s have more than tripled in the past decade, while deaths among those under 30 fell by a quarter. In 2014 alone, accidental overdoses rose 14 per cent — 5 per cent in metropolitan areas and 33 per cent in regional areas. Deaths jumped 21 per cent among those aged 40 to 49, 37 per cent among those aged 50 to 59, and a worrying 42 per cent among those aged 60 to 69. In regional areas, accidental overdose deaths almost doubled in just six years. Prescription drugs, mostly opioids, are now responsible for more than seven in 10 overdose deaths.