Opioids prescribed by doctors are killing Australians more often than illegal drugs like heroin, according to a detailed examination of Australian Bureau of Statistics data.

The National Drug and Alcohol Research Center (NDARC) reports the rate of accidental prescription painkiller deaths has more than doubled among Australians aged 35 to 44 since 2007.  About 70 percent of such deaths were caused by strong prescription opioids rather than heroin.

"The opioid related deaths we are seeing today are showing very different patterns to what we saw at the peak of the heroin epidemic in the late 1990s and early 2000s," said Amanda Roxburgh, a Senior Research Officer with NDARC.  "We're seeing a real shift from illicit to pharmaceutical opioids implicated in these deaths, affecting a broader range of people who want to manage their pain," she added.

Drugs like Oxycontin, Tramadol, and Fentanyl were once used primarily inside hospitals on cancer patients.  But over the past two decades, doctors have increased prescriptions for these powerful painkillers and patients are told to pop one or two of these per day to deal with injuries, or lower back or chronic pain.  Some people get hooked immediately, and within a few weeks they're ingesting dozens per day.

"We probably need to think about other forms of treatment for chronic pain that doesn't involve medications long term and there's really good evidence that psychological and behavioral treatment can successfully help people in better managing their chronic pain," said Ms. Roxburgh.