Millions of Americans are addicted to painkillers, with the death rate from opioid addiction doubling over the past decade, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The US government is attempting to crack down on the problem. Several states have introduced stringent laws that make it much harder to procure strong painkillers and heroin substitutes. But it may be that a small ceramics company in Stoke-on-Trent has found a solution to the problem.

Lucideon makes ceramics – but not as you know them. There are no Staffordshire statues rolling off the line at its fast-growing factory.

One of its flagship products is an edible ceramic pill, designed for the pharmaceutical industry.

Opiate addicts who manage to procure painkillers frequently leach the opiates out of the drugs using alcohol. This is where Lucideon comes in.

“Ceramics can be very porous,” explains Tony Kinsella, the boss of the business. “We put the drug into the pores of the ceramic, which means it can’t dissolve in whisky. It will only come out when the material hits the stomach.”