Drug overdose deaths up for 11th consecutive year
CHICAGO (AP) - Drug overdose deaths rose for the 11th straight year, federal data show, and most of them were accidents involving addictive painkillers despite growing attention to risks from these medicines.
"The big picture is that this is a big problem that has gotten much worse quickly," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which gathered and analyzed the data.
In 2010, the CDC reported, there were 38,329 drug overdose deaths nationwide. Medicines, mostly prescription drugs, were involved in nearly 60 percent of overdose deaths that year, overshadowing deaths from illicit narcotics.
The report appears in Tuesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.
It details which drugs were at play in most of the fatalities. As in previous recent years, opioid drugs - which include OxyContin and Vicodin - were the biggest problem, contributing to 3 out of 4 medication overdose deaths.
Frieden said many doctors and patients don't realize how addictive these drugs can be, and that they're too often prescribed for pain that can be managed with less risky drugs.
They're useful for cancer, "but if you've got terrible back pain or terrible migraines," using these addictive drugs can be dangerous, he said.
Medication-related deaths accounted for 22,134 of the drug overdose deaths in 2010.
Anti-anxiety drugs including Valium were among common causes of medication-related deaths, involved in almost 30 percent of them. Among the medication-related deaths, 17 percent were suicides.
The report's data came from death certificates, which aren't always clear on whether a death was a suicide or a tragic attempt at getting high. But it does seem like most serious painkiller overdoses were accidental, said Dr. Rich Zane, chair of emergency medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
The study's findings are no surprise, he added. "The results are consistent with what we experience" in ERs, he said, adding that the statistics no doubt have gotten worse since 2010.
Frieden said the data show a need for more prescription drug monitoring programs at the state level, and more laws shutting down "pill mills" - doctor offices and pharmacies that over-prescribe addictive medicines.
Last month, a federal panel of drug safety specialists recommended that Vicodin and dozens of other medicines be subjected to the same restrictions as other narcotic drugs like oxycodone and morphine. Meanwhile, more and more hospitals have been establishing tougher restrictions on painkiller prescriptions and refills.
One example: The University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora is considering a rule that would ban emergency doctors from prescribing more medicine for patients who say they lost their pain meds, Zane said.
___
Medical writer Mike Stobbe in Atlanta contributed to this report.
"The big picture is that this is a big problem that has gotten much worse quickly," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which gathered and analyzed the data.
In 2010, the CDC reported, there were 38,329 drug overdose deaths nationwide. Medicines, mostly prescription drugs, were involved in nearly 60 percent of overdose deaths that year, overshadowing deaths from illicit narcotics.
The report appears in Tuesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.
It details which drugs were at play in most of the fatalities. As in previous recent years, opioid drugs - which include OxyContin and Vicodin - were the biggest problem, contributing to 3 out of 4 medication overdose deaths.
Frieden said many doctors and patients don't realize how addictive these drugs can be, and that they're too often prescribed for pain that can be managed with less risky drugs.
They're useful for cancer, "but if you've got terrible back pain or terrible migraines," using these addictive drugs can be dangerous, he said.
Medication-related deaths accounted for 22,134 of the drug overdose deaths in 2010.
Anti-anxiety drugs including Valium were among common causes of medication-related deaths, involved in almost 30 percent of them. Among the medication-related deaths, 17 percent were suicides.
The report's data came from death certificates, which aren't always clear on whether a death was a suicide or a tragic attempt at getting high. But it does seem like most serious painkiller overdoses were accidental, said Dr. Rich Zane, chair of emergency medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
The study's findings are no surprise, he added. "The results are consistent with what we experience" in ERs, he said, adding that the statistics no doubt have gotten worse since 2010.
Frieden said the data show a need for more prescription drug monitoring programs at the state level, and more laws shutting down "pill mills" - doctor offices and pharmacies that over-prescribe addictive medicines.
Last month, a federal panel of drug safety specialists recommended that Vicodin and dozens of other medicines be subjected to the same restrictions as other narcotic drugs like oxycodone and morphine. Meanwhile, more and more hospitals have been establishing tougher restrictions on painkiller prescriptions and refills.
One example: The University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora is considering a rule that would ban emergency doctors from prescribing more medicine for patients who say they lost their pain meds, Zane said.
___
Medical writer Mike Stobbe in Atlanta contributed to this report.
Pain pills are definately over prescribed. The last time I had surgery I refused them in the hospital, but was sent home with a bottle of them and a refillable prescription with the end result being a possible 80 tabs. For someone who is in chronic pain this may be reasonable, but for a person who is not in excruxiating pain I think to have access to that many is a little bit of overkill.Â
@JatokÂ
What you wrote my have some substance but you did not specify which pain medication was prescribed.
That makes your statement difficult to evaluate. If you were prescribed a hydrocodone/apap then it was probably for mild to moderate pain. Timed release drugs like Oxycontin or Morphine sulfate ER are for expected moderate to severe pain.
@Jatok I fully agree. The doctors are way too free with prescribing them! My husband just had minor outpatient surgery, told them he didn't want narcotic pain meds post op and the nurse glibly gave him one without telling him. He was still loopy from the anesthesia, and then found out he'd been given a narcotic instead of an Advil which he's asked to be given instead, prior to the surgery. Not acceptable.
@Thunder @JatokÂ
You can't make broad assumptions. You must know the severity of the pain and duration it is expected to last.
Medical Marijuana can help with many of the conditions treated by Rx painkillers without nearly as many dangerous side effects which can include: addiction (physical addiction whereas MMJ can only become a "Dependent Addiction", or much less of a physical addiction), Death, Organ Damage, Constipation, and so-on. Not being a Physician, anyone who has considered alternatives with less side effects should ask their primary care physician about it (if they don't answer, ask them how you can find out). Go to sites such as drugs.com and see how few drugs Medical Marijuana interacts with, then take a look at the ones listed in the article. PLEASE, do not look at it as a stoner drug as there are many functioning individuals who are not stoners go this route. I have known people who have died from Rx drugs, but never has anyone died from Marijuana (except traffic accidents and such, but Rx drugs seem to have the same if not more of the "mind" effects)
@The TruthÂ
I became disabled in 1997.
I know from the few times I get to use a little marijuana I do not need as much of the Rx drugs.
I used to live and work in Seattle in a technical engineering field. No way could I perform that work "under the influence". People tested driving under the influence of marijuana have been found to be quite good drivers.
I know that it will remain illegal to do so but it is also technically illegal to drive while under the influence of legally prescribed drugs.
@Larry Waybright @The Truth hope things get better for you and your health, sure is nice to know that there are way less harmful solutions right there in front of us. My previous thoughts or impressions of marijuana has changed drastically once I actually looked into it from a factual perspective.
A business owner down the hall from our office just passed away at age 45 due to a combination of alcohol and Rx sleep medication. If he were using MMJ, he would most likely be alive today, he was happy in life and no depression, so this was an accidental overdose/drug interaction......Â
@The TruthÂ
Once we have a legal marijuana program in place it would be a boon for chronic pain patients such as myself.would be a positive development. I believe I could reduce my opiate prescriptions by half.
I live east of the Cascades so resistance to legalized marijuana is much higher than on the west side.
Marijuana is a very safe substance whether for medical or recreational use.
@Larry Waybright I love marijuana as a medicinal substance...recreational use I am not so supportive...but that is just my personal opinion...I don't drink either.
@Larry Waybright I hope for you it comes quickly. Blood chems are so much nearer normal on marijuana as compared to opioids.
@aintno1special @Larry WaybrightÂ
Our views can vary. For now, there are few to no medical marijuana outlets in SE Washington unlike metropolitan west side area.
I do no drink nor buy marijuana but once and if marijuana becomes legally available in my area I will be able to reduce my legal opiate prescription use.
The level of pharmaceutical ignorance among abusers, many medical professionals, law enforcement and especially legislators is absolutely appalling. Just one example is how this article uses a photo of a bottle of 5/500 mg Hydrocodone/Acetaminophen)APAP). This is next to the weakest strength and the FDA has recently ruled to discontinue this formulation so that the acetaminophen content shall not exceed 325 mg. The FDA revised this because acetaminophen at hih doses and/or when combined with alcohol frequently induced fatal acute liver failure irrespective of the opiate content which is the hydrocodone in this instance. Â Few who abuse this drug understand how much more dangerous to their life high doses of acetaminophen is compared to the hydrocodone. They end of dying from liver damage more often than as a result of the hydrocodone.
Street heroin is safer than high doses of hydrocodone/APAP. Not that I am suggesting heroin use. However it is a fact that among heroin addicts there is a lower fatal overdose rate than among polydrug overdoses which include Rx drugs and alcohol.
Sufferers of truly severe chronic pain sufferers end up paying the greatest price when there is sensationalized misinformation published about drug abuse. As an aging society we may expect a growing need for the stronger opiate analgesics but among those who have a legitimate need for such medications the overdose rates are low. The main problem with these drugs is the illicit diversion of them to the black market users who are not medically supervised and are ill informed.
It is true that illegal heroin is a better and safer deal when proper sanitary precautions are taken than legal opiates that have been diverted to black market users of opiates who misuse these drugs..
Properly supervised patients have little problem with overdoses
or abuse. Please do not over react to what is not as great a problem as some make it out to be.
@Larry Waybright Oxycodone/Oxycontin and their generic forms don't contain acetaminophen. That's what most pill addicts are using. Most are smart enough to avoid the combination drugs.Â
@lakeview @Larry WaybrightÂ
Oxycontin doesn't contain any acetaminophen but it is much harder to obtain.
Those drugs which do contain acetaminophen are more easily obtained and therefore cause more adverse outcomes.
@Larry Waybright Problem is the docs that are undereducated on the products they are scripting. I'm all for some sort of reform, but I am sure it would get massive resistance from big pharma as well as the AMA...I think certain meds should be controled by specialized pain management specialist...fewer pts giving them a better supervisory ability. But this would dip into a lot of people's pockets...pharmaceutical companies specifically. There is certainly a need and purpose for a lot of the meds...but are abused, not only by the person taking them...but also by the ones scripting and making them.(and maybe more so the latter.)
@aintno1special @Larry WaybrightÂ
The problem with only allowing so-called Pain Clinic to prescribe opiates is that this gives a few doctors too much control and with it exhorbitantt fees.
@Larry Waybright Very true...I know the feds has cracked down on docs that "over script" narcotics, but I don't think that is enough. Simple fact is drugs are big money legal and illegal, and because of that they are difficult to manage effectively.Â
If they become too expensive I am certain the insurance industry would step in and run interference...they hate losing money as much as the rest of them.Â
If someone wants to take their own life, it is nobody else s business. We have way to many laws as it is, why can't you justÂ
leave others be and allow them to make their own decisions. If I want to die from a drug overdose its my decision and no one elses.
@puddinheadÂ
The problem with your position is that it neglects the pain and sorrow you accidental or intentional death causes those who love you. If you are afflicted with a soon to be terminal illness which is causing you great suffering then I support your decision assuming you have made your peace with your loved ones. I am an atheist so I have no religious objections. I lost my brother to an accidental drug overdose and I know what most of the ramifications are.
Did you even read the article? The very first sentence states, "most of them were accidents."
@IlluminatiÂ
That is a true statement.
What the article fails to mention, and maybe the study as well, is how many of those that died from overdoses were actually prescribed the offending drug?
These drugs are often stolen and/or sold to people for recreational purposes and THOSE are probably a goodly percentage of the deaths.
@FurdÂ
Klonipin is not very addictive. If you think it is it is literally mainly in your head.
@Furd There's plenty of doctors out there that will prescribe these at the drop of a hat though. I had a doctor prescribe me klonopin with out blinking an eye just because I said I had a minor panic attack. Klonopin is extremely addictive and causes pretty massive withdrawls.
The real culprit in a lot of these deaths are the DEA. With all the DEA's unconstitutional rules dealing with doctors ability to prescribe medications needed by their patients, it forces patients like myself into the black market to find relief for our pain. Have had to go to the black market a few times just to try and ease my back pain. Usually takes a 40mg Morphine twice a day to get the pain down enough to tolerate it. Morphine is the next drug that we need to start legalizing for patients to produce. Super easy to grow and process and if people take a few minutes reading they can find out proper dosages.
@BlindmanÂ
Prescribing opiates should remain in the purview of qualified physcians and never OTC.
@BlindmanÂ
Guess the definition of what constitutes severe pain and a high dosasage of MS Contin is subjective. I have been on 100 mg of MS Contin X 2 per day for 12 years for severe chronic pain. I know I have reached the point of diminished returns in that any higher dose would not deliver more pain relief. I can stop taking it for 5 days before a hint of withdrawal symptoms. So much of the effects of opiate  pain meds is subjective.
I do agree with you that the DEA should get out of the business of intimidating prescribing Doctors.
@komonews not surprising. those painkillers are more addictive than heroin, yet doctors prescribe them like they're aspirin.
@hippiechristianÂ
Physicians are not prescribing opiates freely.
It is very hard to get severe pain control.
One must have a thick dossier containing MRI's etc to provide proof of need.
@hippiechristianÂ
Hydrocodone/APAP formulations are not nearly as addictive as heroin or Oxycontin.
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@Betty Apparently it does cause violent mood swings however! Really calling someone a moron for making a statement (arguably a valid statement). While yes when used as created the opioids are not habit forming, but the problem is, the over scripting by physicians and over consumption by the patients...this is what leads to the addictive nature of the drugs. Yes people with chronic pain too are addicted to opioids...Like the article mentions these meds are too often scripted, when a non-narcotic would suffice.
@mshannabrooks working w/ inslee to pave the way for otc naxolone would be a nice start http://t.co/hfKbS6rm
@sarahannelloyd
It would be a great benefit to society to make naxolone easily available for anyone with no questions asked.
My only brother was a heroin addict. He actually successfully stole a few phials of naxolone during an ER visit.
I was able to save his life a few months later simply because I had access to that naxolone..
Unfortunately he overdosed a couple years later and when he wasn't with me nor did we have aay naxolone so he died from an IV overdose of Oxycontin. Since then higher dosage pills of Oxycontin has been reformulated so it is now next to impossible to use IV. Morphine sulfate ER has long been formulated in such a way as to make it next to impossible to inject.