Featured in Sunday’s The Washington Post, the new survey examines the views and experiences of long-term users of strong prescription painkillers, defined as adults who have taken the drugs for at least two months at some point during the past two years, other than to treat pain from cancer or terminal illness. These long-term users represent an estimated 5 percent of adults nationally.
Most long-term users are battling significant health problems, including seven in ten who say they have a debilitating disability or chronic disease. Almost all (98%) long-term painkiller users cite relieving pain as a reason for using the medications, but some also report other reasons:
- One third (34%) say they take the painkillers for fun or to get high;
- One in five (22%) say they take them to deal with day-to-day stress; and
- One in ten (12%) say they take them to relax or relieve tension.
Nearly all (97%) long-term users say they started taking the painkillers through a prescription from a doctor, and most say they discussed with their doctor the possibility of addiction or dependence and alternative ways to manage pain. However, only a third (33%) say their doctor discussed a plan for getting off of the medication.
Some long-term users also report misuse of prescribed medications, including:
- 20 percent say that they have known or suspected that someone else was using, taking, or selling their painkillers;
- 17 percent report taking painkillers not prescribed for them; and
- 14 percent say they’ve shared their painkillers with a family member or friend.