Over the past decade, deaths by overdose of prescription painkillers have tripled, and now account for more fatalities than those by overdoses of heroin and cocaine combined.
MedPage Today
By Kristina Fiore
1 Nov 11
Deaths caused by overdose of prescription painkillers more than tripled over a decade, to nearly 15,000 in 2008, CDC researchers found.
That's up from 4,000 in 1999, Len Paulozzi, MD, of the CDC, and colleagues reported in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report and in a Vital Signs brief.
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The total, and the increase, have been driven largely by prescription painkiller abuse, the researchers said, noting that overdose death from these drugs has surpassed deaths tied to heroin and cocaine combined.
….the national rate of sales in 2010 was equivalent to 710 mg of prescription opioids per person in the U.S.
That's enough to medicate every American adult with a typical dose of 5 mg of hydrocodone (Vicodin, Lortab) every four hours for one month, they wrote….
http://www.everydayhealth.com/addict..._lnk3%7C109406
