Switzerland ranks second in the world in per capita consumption of opioids, such as fentanyl and tramadol. Faced with the risks of inappropriate use and dependence, Unisanté is launching an awareness campaign in the cantons of Vaud and Friborg to improve the safety of treatments and strengthen the prevention role of pharmacies.
Opioids are pain medications made from opium. Their effects are powerful and provide relief, for example, after an accident, a major operation or during cancer treatment, but the risk of dependence is real.
If the United States has been experiencing a health crisis for years with more than 100,000 deaths per year attributed to opioids, Switzerland must also be careful: the prescription of strong opioids in our country has increased by 88% between 2008 and 2018 according to a study conducted by SUVA. In addition, in terms of per capita opioid consumption, the country went from seventh in the world in 2015 to second in 2019.
Faced with this observation, the University Center for General Medicine and Public Health in Lausanne Unisanté, supported by Promotion Santé Suisse, is launching an awareness campaign in pharmacies in the cantons of Vaud and Fribourg. The project is called DépandAntalgie. It aims to “prevent the inappropriate use of opioid analgesics”. This project aims to reach both patients and pharmacists, through flyers and training.
Non-opioids, weak opioids and strong opioids
Medicines that reduce pain are called analgesics. “There are analgesics that are non-opioid, that is to say painkillers that most people know such as paracetamol and anti-inflammatories,” explains Jérôme Berger, head pharmacist at Unisanté, in the show We talk about it on January 9, 2025. “If these treatments are not enough to relieve the pain, we will move on to so-called ‘weak’ opioids, such as codeine and tramadol is frequently prescribed: around 800,000 packages are delivered each year in Switzerland.
What if that’s still not enough? “We are going to switch to strong opioids, drugs which are legally considered narcotics. You need a special prescription to prescribe them and in pharmacies, they are stored in a safe. The best-known molecule is morphine, but there is also oxycodone or fentanyl.”
Addiction and dependence
Jérôme Berger wants to clarify the difference between addiction and dependence. “In the United States, the scourge is addiction. It is a psychological phenomenon where the person seeks to consume the substance while being aware of the risk it represents. Dependence is a physiological phenomenon, which develops in taking these treatments for a long time Forgetting to take a dose for example, withdrawal symptoms appear. It can manifest itself as agitation, tremors, runny nose, diarrhea. no longer to relieve pain, but to relieve this lack.”
What should you pay attention to when starting treatment? “As a pharmacist, I always remind patients that they must be careful when taking and managing these medications. We quickly find ourselves with 4 to 5 different medications to take to treat our pain, because we will have a non-opioid analgesic, a basic opioid, a reserve opioid After a while, people get lost with their treatment. This is when withdrawal symptoms appear. It is absolutely necessary to talk to your pharmacist. or his doctor”, concludes Jerome Berger.
Radio subject: Isabelle Fiaux
Web adaptation: Myriam Semaani
