Attitudes
This section provides an overview of Australians’ attitudes towards pharmaceutical drug use.
It draws on data from the 2022-23 National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS) (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2024). The NDSHS is a triennial general population survey of Australians' awareness, attitudes, and behaviours relating to alcohol and other drug use. It is one of the best data sources available to provide a national population demographic profile of Australians’ attitudes towards pharmaceutical drugs.
To ensure consistency with the source data, this section of the NADK includes the following pharmaceutical drugs:
- Pain-killers/pain-relievers/opioids
- Tranquillisers/sleeping pills
- Methadone/buprenorphine.
Not all of these drugs are included in each FAQ, due to limitations of the data source. Footnotes have been provided in each FAQ to identify exactly which drugs are referred to and how they have been defined according to the NDSHS.
What proportion of Australians think pharmaceuticals are the drugs that cause most deaths in Australia?
When Australians were asked which drug they thought directly or indirectly caused the most deaths in Australia, 7% chose pain-killers/pain-relievers/opioids, 1% chose tranquillisers/sleeping pills, and 0.6% chose methadone/buprenorphine. Most people thought that alcohol (39%) or tobacco (17%) caused the most deaths.
Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). 2022-23 National Drug Strategy Household Survey.
Please note: For the purpose of this FAQ, pharmaceutical drugs refer to pain-killers/pain-relievers/opioids (e.g.Oxycodone, Morphine, Codeine products such as Panadeine Forte), methadone/buprenorphine and tranquillisers/sleeping pills.
Percentages may not tally to 100% due to rounding.
Do Australians consider pharmaceutical drug use to be a problem?
When Australians were asked which drug they first think of when people talk about “a drug problem”, 4% chose pain-killers/pain-relievers/opioids, 0.7% chose methadone/buprenorphine and 0.5% chose tranquilisers/sleeping pills. Methamphetamine or amphetamine† was the drug most likely to be considered a problem (43%).
Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). 2022-23 National Drug Strategy Household Survey.
† Methamphetamine or amphetamine: The NDSHS asked about the use of methamphetamine and amphetamine (including the street names speed, crystal and ice) in 2022–2023. In 2019 and prior years, the NDSHS asked about the use of “Meth/amphetamines”, which also included the non‑medical use of pharmaceutical amphetamines, such as Ritalin (methylphenidate) and pseudoephedrine based cold and flu tablets. The change represents a break in the timeseries. Results for methamphetamine and amphetamine in 2022–2023 should not be compared to meth/amphetamines results from previous survey waves.
Please note: For the purpose of this FAQ, pharmaceutical drugs refer to pain-killers/pain relievers/opioids (e.g. Oxycodone, OxyContin, Endone, Morphine, Tapentadol (e.g. Palexia), Fentanyl, Tramadol, Gabapentin, Pregabalin (e.g. Lyrica), Codeine (e.g. Panadeine Forte), methadone/buprenorphine (e.g. Done, Junk, Bupe, B, Subutex, Suboxone, Sub) and tranquillisers/sleeping pills (e.g. Benzodiazepines, Sleepers, Tranks, Diazepam, Temazepam, Mogadon, Rivotril, Serapax, Xanax, Stilnox, Rohypnol, Hypnodom, Valium, Alrax, Alpraxolam).
Percentages may not tally to 100% due to rounding.
Do Australians consider pharmaceuticals to be the drugs of most serious concern to the community?
When Australians were asked which form of drug use they thought was of most serious concern for the general community, 6% chose the non-medical use of pain-killers/pain-relievers/opioids, 1% chose the non-medical use of tranquilisers/sleeping pills and 0.4% chose the non-medical use of methadone/buprenorphine. The largest proportion (35%) thought that meth/amphetamine or amphetamine† (for non-medical purposes) was the drug of most serious concern.
Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). 2022-23 National Drug Strategy Household Survey.
† Methamphetamine or amphetamine: The NDSHS asked about the use of methamphetamine and amphetamine (including the street names speed, crystal and ice) in 2022–2023. In 2019 and prior years, the NDSHS asked about the use of “Meth/amphetamines”, which also included the non‑medical use of pharmaceutical amphetamines, such as Ritalin (methylphenidate) and pseudoephedrine based cold and flu tablets. The change represents a break in the timeseries. Results for methamphetamine and amphetamine in 2022–2023 should not be compared to meth/amphetamines results from previous survey waves.
Please note: For the purpose of this FAQ, pharmaceutical drugs refer to the non-medical use of pain-killers/pain-relievers/opioids (e.g. Oxycodone, Morphine, Codeine products such as Panadeine Forte), methadone/buprenorphine, and tranquillisers/sleeping pills.
Non-medical use:
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Using a drug for recreational purposes to induce or enhance a drug experience
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Using a pharmaceutical drug in a way that it was not prescribed / recommended (e.g. using it to enhance the effects of an illicit drug, taking it more frequently or at higher doses to induce a feeling, for performance enhancement including athletic and academic performance, or for weight loss).
Do Australians approve or disapprove of the personal use of pharmaceutical drugs for non-medical purposes?
The majority of Australians disapprove of the regular use of pharmaceutical drugs† for non-medical purposes.
Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). 2022-23 National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NCETA secondary analysis, 2024).
† This FAQ uses data from the National Drug Strategy Household Survey, which defines the pharmaceutical drugs referred to in this question as: the non-medical use of: tranquillisers/sleeping pills, pain-killers/pain relievers/opioids (e.g. oxycodone, morphine, codeine products such as panadeine forte), and methadone/buprenorphine.
Non-medical use:
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Using a drug for recreational purposes to induce or enhance a drug experience
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Using a pharmaceutical drug in a way that it was not prescribed / recommended (e.g. using it to enhance the effects of an illicit drug, taking it more frequently or at higher doses to induce a feeling, for performance enhancement including athletic and academic performance, or for weight loss).
Please note: Percentages may not tally to 100% due to rounding.