America Is Awash In Opioids And Urgent Action Is Critical, According
To Former CDC Director
Drug Overdose
Epidemic Called A Horrifying Crisis
“One of the most heartbreaking problems I’ve faced as CDC director is
our nation’s opioid crisis. Lives, families, and communities continue
to be devastated by this complex and evolving epidemic.” That’s how
the former CDC Director characterized the phenomenal increase in drug
overdose deaths before resigning on Inauguration Day. Just how bad is
the opioid epidemic?
Recent publications by the CDC have provided details of the epidemic
through 2015 which is the latest full year of compiled data. The New
York Times reported in April
and again in
June 2017 on estimated data it has compiled for 2016. The startling
increases are only getting worse, according to the Times
investigation.
To better grasp the
magnitude and slope of the epidemic curve, the Times compared the
increases in drug overdose deaths to those from other well-recognized
problems. The table below reveals that since 1990, all of the
comparison conditions have actually decreased while drug overdoses
have increased by more than 500%!
|
Cause of death |
1990 Deaths |
2015 Deaths |
Change |
|
Car accidents |
44,600 |
37,757 |
Decrease |
|
Guns
|
36,943 |
35,763 |
Decrease |
|
HIV |
27,256 |
6,465 |
Decrease |
|
Drug overdoses |
8,413 |
52,404 |
Increase
>500% |
The NY Times predicts based on their extensive
investigation of the overdose deaths likely to be reported for 2016
that the number will be 62,497. If this occurs, it will be the
single largest
one year increase in overdose deaths. Said the Times in April, “It’s
the worst drug overdose epidemic in American history, spurred by
rising drug abuse, increased availability of prescription opioids and
an influx of potent synthetics like fentanyl and carfentanil.”
The paper quotes heroin researcher Dan Ciccarone of the
University of California, San Francisco, “…It’s horrifying. It’s not
even the magnitude—it’s the steepness at which it’s climbing.”
According to Frieden, control and prevention efforts must include the
following:
Rescue people whose lives are at immediate risk
o
Administer naloxone to reverse overdoses in progress
o
Increase
access to naloxone among first responders
o
Expand
training programs on naloxone
o
Increase
access to medication-assisted treatment
o
Train
more providers to offer this treatment
o
Support
law enforcement to reduce the supply of drugs
Prevent opioid use disorder from developing
o
Improve
how doctors prescribe opioids for pain treatment
o
Make
better use of prescription monitoring programs
o
Increase
awareness of risks and benefits for persons given the drugs
■
|