How Bad the Opioid Epidemic Really Is in 6 Simple Charts

[Historic NY]

Drug overdose deaths, once rare, are now the leading cause of accidental death in the U.S., surpassing peak annual deaths caused by motor vehicle accidents, guns and HIV infection.

< Opioids are drugs that stimulate the brain's opiate receptors. Some are made from opium and some are completely synthetic. In the U.S., the most commonly prescribed opioids are hydrocodone and oxycodone, which are classified as semi-synthetic because they are synthesized from opium. Heroin is also a semi-synthetic opioid. The effects of hydrocodone and oxycodone on the brain are indistinguishable from the effects produced by heroin.

Opioids are essential medicines for palliative care. They are also helpful when used for a couple of days after major surgery or a serious accident. Unfortunately, the bulk of the opioid prescriptions in the U.S. are for common conditions, like back pain.

In these cases, opioids are more likely to harm patients than help them because the risks of long-term use, such as addiction, outweigh potential benefit. Opioids have not been proven effective for daily, long-term use. Evidence suggests that chronic use of opioids can even make pain worse, a phenomenon called hyperalgesia.>


[link:https://www.livescience.com/60626-opioid-epidemic-in-6-charts.html|

[BannonsLiver]

1. Do more advanced cultures like those found in Europe have these problems?

[Snackshack]

2. Looks like it.

A quick search showed this:

“For the third consecutive year, the number of overdoses in Europe increased. In 2015, there were 8441 overdose-related deaths, which is an increase of 6% from 2014, according to the report. The uptick in overdoses was observed in nearly all age groups.

Opioids were detected in approximately 79% of deaths in 2015. Interestingly, methadone and buprenorphine, which are typically used to treat opioid misuse disorder, were also found in toxicology reports.”

http://www.ajpb.com/news/opioid-epidemic-ravages-europe





However since more advances European countries tend to have a healthcare model that is not a for-profit model, a justice system that is not being migrated to a for-profit model, plus a reasoned understanding and maturity on this issue they most likely have many more option available to deal with the crisis. In fact the article states this towards the end of the piece.

Side note: Looking at some of the information the search pulled up I found it interesting that drug companies are not allowed to advertise medications there as they do here. Seems like if you see 10 commercials in a day 6 of them will be for a medication that spends 30 seconds of the ad talking about side effects...which may include but is not limited to death... NZ is the only other country that allows this type of advertising if what I read is correct.

[BannonsLiver]

3. Good information. Thank you.

[ThoughtCriminal]

4. However, the total number of overdose deaths is much lower in Europe

I'm not sure how they are defining "Europe" so I don't know the population, but that's 8441 vs over 34,000 deaths in the U.S.