Prevention and education

There are a variety of strategies that can be used to prevent the non-medical use of opioids and educate people about the potential harms associated with their use.

These strategies include:

• build community knowledge of opioid-related harms
• provide community-level organisations and clubs with prevention programs
• deliver early intervention programs for at-risk youth in schools
• develop and promote culturally appropriate resources about opioids for individuals, families and communities, and professionals who have contact with at-risk people
• engage communities and stakeholders in the development of prevention programs [33425].

Another important means of preventing non-medical use of opioids is reducing the supply of opioids in the community [23503]. This can be done by controlling the amount of opium poppies being grown, and by working with law enforcement to reduce the amount of unregulated opioids being brought into Australia from overseas [23503].

The Australian Government has implemented regulatory changes to reduce the harms caused by opioid prescription medicines [49607]. As of 2018, patients require a prescription to obtain any opioid-based medications in Australia [26504]. In addition, pharmaceutical companies are now required to [49607]:

• provide smaller pack sizes for immediate-release opioids
• add additional warning statements on product information labels
• improve information available to prescribers and consumers
• update prescribing indications (the reason/s for use) for opioids, to ensure the benefits of their use outweigh the risks.