When you hear the word “overdose,” one most likely thinks
about deaths caused by alcohol, cocaine, meth, or heroin. But today, prescription
painkiller drugs are becoming a much more serious problem than meth or cocaine.
In 1999, 4,000 people died annually from prescription overdoses. Today, prescription
drug overdoses kill 15,000 people annually. That’s more people than the annual
overdose deaths caused by meth or cocaine combined. The Centers of Disease
Control and Prevention has now classified prescription painkiller overdoses as
an epidemic. The map below clearly shows this increase in drug overdoses between the year 2008 (the top map) and 2010 (the bottom map). Risk factors for death caused by a prescription drugs include
being male, middle-aged, White or American Indian, Alaskan Native, and living
in a rural community. How can the federal government make a difference? The
federal government is “promoting programs and policies shown to prevent
prescription drug overdose” (cdc.gov). How can you make a difference? Only use prescription
drugs as directed by your physician, and do not share your prescription drugs
with anyone else for any reason. For more information on this subject, please
visit http://www.cdc.gov/Features/VitalSigns/PainkillerOverdoses/ and
.
