opioids

Alcohol Is Killing More People Than Opioids

November 18, 2018 By Amanda Blankenship Leave a Comment

Alcohol is killing more adults in the United States than the opioid epidemic, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. The surge in alcohol-related deaths is new and, for many, it is surprising.

Deaths From Drinking

The opioid epidemic has gotten quite a bit of news coverage. However, it turns out the drinking epidemic may be more harmful to the U.S. population. Opioids kill around 72,000 people each year. Alcohol kills 88,000. All in all, drinking leads to 2.5 million years of potential life lost.

Over the past decade, the number of alcohol-related deaths has increased by 35 percent. Surprisingly, the demographic being affected by the alcohol epidemic is young women. Among this group, alcohol-related deaths rose by 67 percent, compared to only 27 percent for men.

Alcohol Is Killing More Women

The National Institute on Alcohol and Abuse and Alcoholism says women are more susceptible to these types of deaths because they generally weigh less than men. This makes women feel the effects of alcohol faster and those who drink excessively are prone to liver damage, heart disease, breast cancer, and possible pregnancy complications.

The Institute has also found that 9.3 percent of women said they drank alcohol while pregnant. Another 51.1. percent drank alcohol in general, compared to 61.3 percent of men. Twenty-two percent of those surveyed said they engaged in binge drinking in the past month, compared to 32.1 percent of men. Only 5.4 percent of female drinkers and 7.4 percent of men received help for an alcohol disorder.

Researchers did have some good news to uncover in the report though. Overall, teen drinking deaths are on the decline (down 16 percent in 10 years). However, deaths attributed to drinking for people between the ages of 45 and 64 have increased by 25 percent.

Who Cares?

Although it seems like women are drinking less than men, overall, they are still experiencing a higher rate of mortality associated with drinking. It is important to note that most of the alcohol deaths included in the report are not instantaneous. Many of them develop over time.

Location is also a factor. At the top of the list for most alcohol deaths is the District of Columbia, followed by Georgia and Alabama. Other states on the list are general places with lower alcohol control policies (Nevada, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Wyoming).

The bigger question here is, with alcohol-related deaths on the rise, why do Americans still feel that drinking in excess is acceptable? Psychologist Benjamin Miller noted, “Culturally, we’ve made it acceptable to drink but not to go out and shoot up heroin,” he said. “A lot of people will read this and say ‘What’s the problem?’”

Readers, what do you think about the latest report? Are you surprised alcohol-related deaths are on the rise?

FDA Warns of People Abusing Their Pets’ Opioid Prescription

August 19, 2018 By Amanda Blankenship 1 Comment

In 2015, the opioid crisis cost the American economy an estimated $504 billion, or 2.8% of the GDP. Although many government agencies are working diligently to get this problem under control, people are finding loopholes and new ways to access these seriously addictive drugs. Now the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning that individuals may be abusing their pets’ opioid prescription.

The ongoing opioid crisis results in more than 1,000 emergency room visits and 115 deaths every day in the United States. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb has been working with physicians to place more strict rules on opioids. However, he is now asking veterinarians to join the efforts as well.

According to a paper recently published in the American Journal of Public Health, 189 vets in Colorado completed an online survey. Of these, 13% reported being aware that an animal’s owner had intentionally made an animal ill or injured an animal to get an opioid prescription. Forty-four percent reported knowing of opioid abuse or misuse by a staff member or client and 12% were aware of a staff member abusing opioids.

Gottlieb responded to these findings by asking vets to help ensure that there’s a balance between caring for animals and providing humane treatment for their pain, while still addressing the epidemic of misuse and abuse. This began yet another debate centered around the systems put in place to help fight opioid addiction, one of the main issues of the epidemic.

However, at no point in the process of prescribing an opioid does a vet have to consult the owner’s medical history or potential history of abuse. In fact, a vet would need special clearance to even get that information. There are no systems in place to track opioid prescriptions at the vet, nor any set way to deal with misuse amongst staff members and clients.

Both Colorado and Maine enacted laws that made it mandatory to check an owner’s medical history before prescribing their pet opioids. There was an outrage among vets and pet owners because choices for treating pain in an animal are limited.

“We recognize that opioids and other pain medications have a legitimate and important role in treating pain in animals – just as they do for people,” Gottlieb noted in a report last week. “But just like the opioid medications used in humans, these drugs have potentially serious risks, not just for the animal patients, but also because of their potential to lead to addiction, abuse and overdose in humans who may divert them for their own use.”

There is only one opioid approved for use in animals. Because there are very few approved medications for animals, vets are forced to prescribe Recuvyra, a human opioid medication, when the animal is in pain. Recuvyra is a form of fentanyl, a drug that has killed thousands of Americans already and was even used to kill an inmate on death row just last week in Nebraska. More research is needed to explore alternative ways of treating an animal’s pain.

“As medical professionals, veterinarians have an opportunity to partner with the FDA and others to take on this public health crisis,” Gottlieb said. “We encourage them to continue to work with their clients and both local and national organizations, such as their state board of veterinary medicine and AVMA, to join in the fight against this tragic epidemic.”

US Heroin Overdoses Are At An All-Time High

February 26, 2017 By Amanda Blankenship Leave a Comment

One in every four overdoses that occurs in the United States is a result of heroin and opioid usage, according to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, and the number of deaths due to these overdoses on are the rise. The number of drug overdose deaths in 2015 was twice that of 1999, increasing approximately 5.5 percent each year.

The War Against Drugs in the U.S.

The so-called “war against drugs” in the U.S. has been happening for decades. Recently, more attention has been drawn to heroin and opioid use because of the vast number of Americans that have become addicted to those substances.

Celebrities, like rapper Ben Haggerty (better known as Macklemore), have been speaking up about heroin and opioid use. In one of his songs, “Drug Dealer,” the chorus reads:

My drug dealer was a doctor, doctor
Had the plug from Big Pharma, Pharma
He said that he would heal me, heal me
But he only gave me problems, problems

He wanted to draw attention to the fact that many doctors are prescribing opioids to help people with pain or other issues and, instead of it being helpful, most patients get hooked. Once they are addicted to the medication they’ll seek out anything to get high, even if it means shooting heroin, and it is leading to thousands of deaths every year.

Some Data Regarding Overdoses in the U.S.

Heroin could possibly lead to even more deaths in the years to come. CDC data has shown an increase in drug overdose deaths every single year since 1999. According to Newsweek, the data showed an increase in overdose deaths in men. Deaths increased from 8.2 deaths (per 100,000) in 1999 in to 20.8 deaths (per 100,000) in 2015. As for women, overdose deaths have increased from 3.9 deaths (per 100,000) to 11.8 deaths (per 100,000) in 2015.

Some U.S. states had drug overdose death rates much higher than the national average. States that have been hit the hardest with drug overdoses include many of the places that were hit hard by the Recession, including West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio. And, to many people’s surprise, the minorities aren’t being hit the hardest with the drug epidemic. In fact, more white males are dying of drug overdoses than anyone else.

Heroin and Opioid Use

Possibly the scariest fact of them all is that 25 percent of all overdose deaths are caused by heroin (up from 8 percent in 1999). CDC officials estimate that about 1,000 people are admitted into emergency rooms from opioid overdoses every day. Heroin and opioid overdoses also cause about 140 deaths per day and cost the U.S. health care system practically $78.5 billion per year.

What Can We Do?

So, what can we do to stop it? Is there anything?

Well, there are a number of things we can do to lessen the amount of drug overdose deaths in the U.S. but it is a point of controversy for many people. Some would argue that the reform needs to happen in the hospitals where opioids are being prescribed like candy, while others think it would be best to provide a drug, like Narcan, to “bring someone back” from a drug overdose.

In some states, like Pennsylvania, Narcan has become available to both EMTs and families of people struggling with addiction. It has not yet been long enough to see whether or not the miracle medication has helped decrease the number of overdose deaths in Pennsylvania but time will soon tell.

Until we know exactly how to deal with drug overdose, however, we need to look out for one another. Drug addiction is a difficult thing for both addicts and family to deal with. If you or someone you know is struggling with drug addiction you can reach out to the National Helpline 1-800-662-HELP 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Photo: Bradenton.com