Page 506 - Week 02 - Thursday, 25 February 1993
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MRS GRASSBY (11.56): I am very pleased to be able to support the recommendations of this report, and I would like to take this opportunity to make some points about the report. First of all, I would like to thank Mr Moore, who is the chairman of this committee, Mrs Carnell, and our very able secretary, Ron Owens. It was a delight to work on this report with them.
Prescription drug abuse is very much a hidden problem. The media in Australia has done an excellent job in depicting the horrors and dangers of illegal drugs, and the picture many people have of drug abuse is of a back alley drug dealer or an unfortunate overdose victim. It is important that other drugs are also seen to be dangerous. The dangers of alcohol and tobacco are well documented. However, the dangers of benzodiazepines are still overlooked or ignored. All of us remember the old advertising slogan, "A cup of tea, a Bex and a good lie down". I remember going to a play with that title. This seems to sum up many people's feelings when it comes to legal drugs. The trust people have in their family doctor is such that a prescribed drug is accepted without question in many cases. However, we know that "a cup of tea, a Bex, and a good lie down" is the cause of many of our kidney transplants today. How many people do we know who started the day off with a Bex because otherwise they could not attend to their work?
I am not blaming doctors for their patients' overuse. However, I would like to see an informal arrangement where the pharmacist could contact a doctor and advise that one of his patients was having scripts filled often or had scripts from several different doctors. Such a situation does not need to be formal but merely a courtesy between two health professionals. If this does not work, the Government could look at legislation that could cover the situation, whereby pharmacists would have to report this happening. I know that there are pharmacists who take that sort of care. However, there are people who feel that they need these drugs and they keep having scripts filled. The doctor may not take the pointer, and we all know that doctors are busy. Pharmacists see this trend, and this could be a way of doing it.
A major point made to me during the committee's visit to Sydney was that patients do not realise the danger of these drugs. It may well be that many problems will not surface for years, in much the same manner that the kidney problems I spoke about earlier are now being linked to long-term aspirin use. I am astounded at the number of brands of benzodiazepines on the market. It seems that every drug company produces these drugs. However, more importantly, it brought home to me that these drugs are common and therefore have an acceptance that other drugs do not have.
The NHMRC has found that women have a greater chance of being prescribed these drugs. As a woman, I understand how being an overworked housewife, mother, income earner, chief hostess - the list goes on and on - can lead to a situation where drugs appear to be the answer. Unfortunately, these drugs are legal and often seem to be given out by doctors like a 25c bag of lollies. Of course, they cost a lot more to buy, but there is also a cost to the community. The survey shows that 48,700 more women than men are involved in long-term use of tranquillisers, and this cannot be ignored.
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