Opioid drugs are being prescribed four times more in the north than in London

The lesson of the American opioid epidemic is stark: painkillers that are as addictive as they are powerful need to be rigorously controlled.

Once doctors and hospitals lose control, hundreds of thousands of people are sucked into a deadly spiral of dependence, street dealers, overdoses and death. It is why America has reportedly lost more lives to opioids in two years than it did in the Vietnam War.

A Sunday Times investigation into our painkiller crisis shows that the north of England may already be beyond the point of no return. Opioid drugs are being prescribed four times more in the north than in London — and three times as many people are dying there.

Millions are being prescribed opioids every day by GPs. They