From 1 February 2018 all medicines containing codeine will require a prescription.
New research finds that 1 in 3 (35%) Australians have used codeine in the last year.
1 in 4 (24%) of those who use codeine admit that their pain is still not under control.
Research shows that current over-the-counter low-dose (< 30 mg) codeine-containing products offer little additional pain relief when compared to similar medicines without codeine.
The effect of codeine is actually dictated by the genes we inherit from our parents, which can result in codeine being ineffective or even leading to a morphine overdose.
Around 100 Australians die from codeine toxicity each year.
But from February 1, the pills won't be as easily available over the counter. Australians will need a prescription from their doctor.
The medicines affected include codeine-containing combination analgesics, available under brand names such as Panadeine, Nurofen Plus and Mersyndol, and pharmacy generic pain relief products, and codeine-containing cough, cold and flu products, available under brand ranges such as Codral, Demazin and pharmacy generic cough, cold and flu medicines.
The changes are expected to cost taxpayers more than $300 million every year.
That's because more people will be visiting their GP to get access to these medications.
There are also concerns that people could resort to other drugs, such as cannabis or alcohol, for alternative pain relief.
The government's Chief Medical Officer, Professor Brendan Murphy, believes the ban could help curb addiction.
The ban puts Australia in line with the United States, most European countries and Japan, which have already regulated codeine medications.
