Code red for codeine

AUSTRALIA’S top pain medicine body is urging patients to start considering alternative pain relief to codeine before the ban on over-the-counter sales of the drug next year.

Dr Chris Hayes, Dean of the Faculty of Pain Medicine, said anti- inflammatory drugs or paracetamol provided better pain relief without the risk of codeine addiction.

“For acute pain most of the studies show that the combination of paracetamol and antiinflammatories works as well, if not better, and without the risks of codeine,” he said.