The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claim that the deaths from drug overdoses have surged across the US to record levels.
The deaths in the US in 2014 due to drug overdose reached more than 47.000 which was much more than the number of people killed in car accidents and up 7% from the previous year.
Some type of opioid pain relievers and heroin were involved in at least 61% of the deaths, the CDC said. Powerful sedatives, cocaine and other legal and illicit drugs were also among the other causes of such deaths.
The rise in overdoses related to opioid use, up 14% from 2014, was particularly concerning, said CDC director Tom Frieden.
“The increasing number of deaths from opioid overdose is alarming. The opioid epidemic is devastating American families and communities,” he said.
The report claimed that both the sexes – men and women saw an inrcease in the number of overdose deaths, in non-Hispanic whites and blacks, and in adults of nearly all ages.
The highest overdose death rates were recorded in West Virginia, New Mexico, New Hampshire, Kentucky and Ohio.
With a overdose death rate of 35.5 per 100,000, West Virginia topped the list. The national rate was about 15 per 100,000.
In order to provide a more balanced comparison between states given the differences in population size, the state rates are calculated.
The most overdose deaths last year occurred in California — the most populous state. More than 4,500 deaths were reported from this state last year. Ohio was second, with more than 2,700.
Death certificates forms the basis of these records. The CDC says that from 2000 through to 2014, nearly half a million Americans have died from drug overdoses. There has been a 137 percent rise in the death incidents of overall deaths from drug overdose since 2000. The death rate from the overdose of opioids has jumped 200 percent, the agency said.
The Atlanta based CDC pays special focus to drug overdoses, especially those that are caused from prescription opioid painkillers. A draft guideline for family doctors was released by the agency this week. The agency hopes that this would encourage them to urge the increased use of naloxone, an overdose antidote and be more careful about prescribing opioids for chronic pain.
The CDC said that there has been a recent surge in heroin-related deaths that has tripled in the last four years while the deaths from prescription painkillers have been increasing for 15 years.
The agency reported that more overdoses are being caused by the lower prices of heroin, wider and easier availability and higher purity of the drug.
(Source: www.dailymail.co.uk)
The deaths in the US in 2014 due to drug overdose reached more than 47.000 which was much more than the number of people killed in car accidents and up 7% from the previous year.
Some type of opioid pain relievers and heroin were involved in at least 61% of the deaths, the CDC said. Powerful sedatives, cocaine and other legal and illicit drugs were also among the other causes of such deaths.
The rise in overdoses related to opioid use, up 14% from 2014, was particularly concerning, said CDC director Tom Frieden.
“The increasing number of deaths from opioid overdose is alarming. The opioid epidemic is devastating American families and communities,” he said.
The report claimed that both the sexes – men and women saw an inrcease in the number of overdose deaths, in non-Hispanic whites and blacks, and in adults of nearly all ages.
The highest overdose death rates were recorded in West Virginia, New Mexico, New Hampshire, Kentucky and Ohio.
With a overdose death rate of 35.5 per 100,000, West Virginia topped the list. The national rate was about 15 per 100,000.
In order to provide a more balanced comparison between states given the differences in population size, the state rates are calculated.
The most overdose deaths last year occurred in California — the most populous state. More than 4,500 deaths were reported from this state last year. Ohio was second, with more than 2,700.
Death certificates forms the basis of these records. The CDC says that from 2000 through to 2014, nearly half a million Americans have died from drug overdoses. There has been a 137 percent rise in the death incidents of overall deaths from drug overdose since 2000. The death rate from the overdose of opioids has jumped 200 percent, the agency said.
The Atlanta based CDC pays special focus to drug overdoses, especially those that are caused from prescription opioid painkillers. A draft guideline for family doctors was released by the agency this week. The agency hopes that this would encourage them to urge the increased use of naloxone, an overdose antidote and be more careful about prescribing opioids for chronic pain.
The CDC said that there has been a recent surge in heroin-related deaths that has tripled in the last four years while the deaths from prescription painkillers have been increasing for 15 years.
The agency reported that more overdoses are being caused by the lower prices of heroin, wider and easier availability and higher purity of the drug.
(Source: www.dailymail.co.uk)
