I was surprised like you too, but later I realized that people were popping pills at that rate because it is used as substitute for primary care which is both expensive and sometimes not easy to schedule, unless it ER getting an appointment can take a lot of time here .
Took me a week to a see a dentist, I popped more pills than last 10 years to keep going for a week before I could get prescriptions that actually solved the problem.
Yes, but that's not a reason to have anything fundamentally different.
I do think maybe some things, he 'first time you buy' you should have the pharmacist spell it out for you. Or it's even 'behind the counter' and you just have to ask for it i.e. 'controlled substance'.
But I'm not sure if effectively it would make a change, other than the way it's sold in 'huge quantities' makes people believe they can just eat it up willy nilly.
The US has an opiate epidemic in no small parts due to a overprescription and "just medicate the problem away, can't take a day off" mentality.
A while ago there was a very relevant article about this on HN, an American woman moved to Germany and had some surgery done. She had pain after the surgery, and from her American experiences she expected to be given heavy painkillers.
Instead the doctors prescribed her ibuprofen and told to rest well. At first she felt that was barbaric, but the article described how actually taking a rest to heal up, completely changed her view and how ultimately she was very glad not having had to depend on opiates to get trough that.
I wish I could find that article again, but sadly I couldn't, maybe somebody else remembers it and can share the link.
It may be safe in by itself, but using a painkiller only masks the pain, the underlying issue is addressed later or never and that can create problems for you.
Also when the body signals with pain, that needs attention and treatment, taking painkillers frequently may make one ignore a real problem, which perhaps had it been taken more seriously and treated earlier may save lives.
Took me a week to a see a dentist, I popped more pills than last 10 years to keep going for a week before I could get prescriptions that actually solved the problem.