Opioids

Opioids include medicines used for pain and drugs such as heroin and fentanyl. Their ability to relieve pain and distress also comes with risks including sedation, physical dependence and dangerous slowing of breathing.

“Opioid” does not mean “heroin”, and a prescribed opioid is not automatically safe or addictive. Opioids are a broad family of drugs that includes medicines such as morphine, codeine and oxycodone, as well as heroin and fentanyl.

They reduce pain by acting on the body’s opioid system, but the same broad effects can also produce relaxation, pleasure, drowsiness and, at higher exposure, dangerous slowing of breathing. Repeated use can lead to tolerance and physical dependence, although neither is the same thing as addiction.

Risk depends on much more than the name of the drug. Potency, dose, route, other substances, individual health and whether the drug’s contents are known all matter. Illicitly manufactured fentanyl and counterfeit pills can make exposure particularly unpredictable because people may receive a potent opioid without knowing exactly what they have taken.

An opioid overdose can suppress breathing and become life-threatening. Naloxone can reverse opioid effects in an overdose, but reversal does not make the wider medical situation irrelevant.

Full access is needed to read this Topic's articles.