Prescription Drug Overdose Deaths Surpass Heroin, Cocaine Deaths Combined
Nov. 2, 2011
Staff--HispanicBusiness
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed in an early release excerpted from its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report that overdose deaths involving prescription drugs known as opioid pain relievers have increased, and now exceed deaths involving heroin and cocaine.
The prescription drugs called opoid pain relievers include codeine, hydrocodone (includes Vicodin), morphine, and oxycodone (OxyContin). According to the CDC report, a total 36,450 deaths in the U.S. were related to drug overdose in 2008. Of these, opoid pain relievers "were involved in 14,800 deaths (73.8 percent) of the 20,044 prescription drug overdose deaths" subset.
Key points of the study point to the promulgation of opoid pain reliever sales, which quadrupled between 1999 and 2010. Drug overdoses are approaching motor vehicle crashes (39,973 deaths in 2008) as the most significant cause of injury-related death. The CDC concludes that "the epidemic of overdoses of OPR has continued to worsen."
Source: HispanicBusiness.com (c) 2011. All rights reserved.
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