Codeine Addiction Under the Spotlight
Codeine is a prescription medication that is commonly used to treat mild to moderate periods of pain. The drug comes in tablet form, and it is the main ingredient that can be found in prescription level cough suppressants. For example, Tylenol is a combination of codeine and Acetaminophen. Whilst being very effective in successfully dulling pain, the unfortunate reality for high numbers of patients is that they develop an addiction to the drug.
Codeine is a narcotic and an opiate, and although the name of the tablet itself doesn’t necessarily feel ‘scary’ to patients, it ranks alongside the likes of oxycontin, morphine and heroin in terms of its addictive potential and qualities. Outside of the doctor’s office, street names for codeine include schoolboy, cities, cough syrup and T-threes.
Codeine Effects And Abuse
Codeine use, more often than not, starts out in a completely innocent way, and this is in the form of a doctor’s prescription either for tablets or for cough syrup solution. When left unregulated at home, it is very easy for a patient to begin using more of their prescription than they need to manage their pain level, and this is how the addiction manifests.
Codeine is currently far less regulated than other more supposedly dangerous opiates such as morphine and oxycontin, and this lack of regulation and control makes it a very easy substance to abuse in the current pharmaceutical landscape.
Though it is admittedly less potent, codeine causes much of the same effects as morphine, these include:
- Euphoria
- Drowsiness
- Relaxation
- Apathy
The problem with a painkiller like codeine is that the more a person takes, the higher their tolerance becomes, and this leads to developing a dependence on much higher doses than are necessary. It is at this point where a physical need for the drug also starts to become a psychological one.
There is currently a popular misconception that codeine is a more or less harmless drug, but in high enough doses it can lead to respiratory failure, coma and in the worst possible scenario, death. The risk of such an outcome is made even higher if codeine is combined with other central nervous system depressants like alcohol or other types of opioids.
Codeine Addiction And Abuse Statistics
As you can imagine, the statistics and data for an addiction to something like codeine are constantly changing and evolving as the drug’s use in mainstream culture evolves. Here are some of the most recent findings for both the United Kingdom and the United States of America, two countries in particular in which the problem of codeine addiction is a fast growing concern.
- United Kingdom
Codeine has become a much easier commodity to obtain in the last few years in the UK, mostly due to the fact that it is available in certain variations and quantities over the counter rather than just via prescription.
According to the Office for National Statistics, in 2020, there were a total of 212 recorded deaths that were classed as being codeine related. This marks an increase of 25% compared to deaths in 2019, and, remarkably, an increase of 100% since the numbers recorded in 2010. The difference in statistics in just ten short years is a stark indicator of the direction that codeine addiction is going in the UK.
- USA
It is estimated that around 33 million people in the United States use codeine every single year, purely for non-prescribed purposes. Of course, this number does not automatically equate to the percentage of individuals that then begin to develop a real problem with the painkiller, but a higher percentage of users compared to the UK will obviously translate into a higher percentage of misuse and addiction.
Between 1999 and 2019, approximately 500,000 Americans have fatally overdosed on drugs within the opiate family, and codeine is very much a part of that high figure. In the past and, arguably still in the present, there has been a problematic culture in the United States particularly of opioids being made too readily available by health professionals.
Due to its incredibly high rates of non-medical use, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has since reclassified codeine as a Schedule III substance, which means that it is now on course to be under more increased and meticulous monitoring.
Signs And Symptoms
The signs and symptoms of codeine abuse can be extremely varied among individuals and can depend heavily on how long the addiction has been present and the frequency of use. They can also be divided in categories such as mood, behavioural, physical and psychological. The most common examples include:
Mood:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Euphoria
- Emotional numbness.
- Mood swings.
- A sense of calmness/well-being.
Behavioural:
- Becoming socially isolated.
- Withdrawing from loved ones.
- Forging prescriptions to obtain codeine.
- Visiting the ER with vague pain complaints in hope of receiving a prescription.
- Visiting a number of different doctors with the aim of getting multiple prescriptions.
- Stealing and/or borrowing from friends to fund your habit.
- Getting into financial difficulty from your habit.
- Fixating on codeine and where you will next obtain it.
- Becoming indifferent to people and activities that once excited you.
- Ordering codeine online under precarious circumstances.
- Faking illness in order to obtain a prescription.
- Allowing your interpersonal relationships to break down.
- Lying about your codeine use.
- A drop in performance at work or school.
Physical:
- A blue tinge on the fingernail beds and the lips.
- Fainting spells.
- Dizzy spells.
- Chronic constipation.
- Dry mouth.
- Urine retention.
- Itches and rashes.
- Low blood pressure.
- Unexplained seizures.
- Respiratory depression.
- A decreased lack of libido and sex drive.
Psychological:
- Hallucinations
- Delusions
- Psychosis
- A general decline in mental health.
- Decrease in power of memory.
- A general lack of emotions.
It is clear to see from this wide range of symptoms and effects that codeine is a substance that can truly ruin an individual’s life. What might seem like a sanctioned, regulated prescription from a well-meaning doctor can very quickly and definitively become a problem if used in a dangerous and uncontrolled manner.
