Overdoses and deaths from opioids— including prescription painkillers and heroin—have nearly quadrupled in the U.S. since 1999, according to a recent study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, that was conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, MD. Opioids work on the nervous system or specific brain receptors to reduce pain intensity.
The study finds that more than 50 percent of patients with prescribed opioids have leftover tablets, and many save them to share or use later. More than three out of five overdose deaths involve an opioid, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Earlier this year, the CDC advised doctors to avoid prescribing powerful opioid painkillers for patients with chronic pain (other than cancer pain), noting that the risks far outweigh the benefits for most people. Non-opioid pain treatments can be used more safely.
—Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; JAMA Internal Medicine
Good Neighbor Pharmacy Health Connection, October 2016
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