According to a national study, chronic pain is being suffered by a third of the population, as 20% of the victims have considered sucide, while 5% have tried to take their own lives.

Also, most of the chronic pain sufferers are of the opinion that they are seen as drug addict and tend to feel ‘stigmatized’. Chronic Pain Australia President Coralie Wales, who commissioned the study of 2500 people, has stated, “the more stigmatized you feel, the more likely you are to commit suicide".

Chronic pain is referred to as a condition that has persisted for over 3 months, and it affects about 6.5 million Australians.

Ms Wales further stated that the way South Australia treated chronic pain sufferers was worse, compared to any other state, which was owing to them being forced to get their medication from the Drug and Alcohol Services, with drug addicts.

Moreover, she expressed that the situation was so dire that chronic pain sufferers were forced to move “interstate for better access to medication”, for example 49-years-old Colin Shaw moved from Adelaide to Brisbane a year ago to seek treatment for his cluster headaches, and had to get his medication alongside addicts.