A new study suggests, in the last five years prescription narcotic deaths have doubled in the province of Ontario, fuelled partly by the addition of OxyContin to the province's public drug programme.

The study found, opioid pain reliever deaths increase from 13.7-deaths per million residents in 1991 to 27.2-deaths per million residents in 2004.

Adding OxyContin, a long-acting form of oxycodone to the province's drug formulary, which funds medications for seniors, welfare recipients and people with disabilities, in January 2000 has seen a five-fold increase in oxycodone-related deaths.

Lead author Dr. Irfan Dhalla told CTV News: 'We were quite surprised by the number of deaths that related to prescription opioids. Towards the end of our study, there were well in excess of 300
-deaths each year in Ontario alone'.

Researchers hope these figures will make both patients and doctors realize just how dangerous these drugs can be.

Narcotic pain killers used for treating people with moderate-to-severe pain, can also have fatal side effects, leading to depressed breathing and decreasing level of consciousness.

The study also found prescriptions for oxycodone had risen by over 850% in Ontario during the study period, a far larger increase than for any other narcotic pain reliever. This has caused the province to promise new rules for restricting the manner in which OxyContin is prescribed, with the Health Ministry considering guidelines for capping the number of pills that can be dispensed at one time.

The study has been published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.