Preventing overdose deaths is not one-size-fits-all

By now, we all know that the number of opioid-related deaths in the United States has reached epidemic proportions. Despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declaring an epidemic in 2011, the death rate has continued to increase every year, with more than 30,000 deaths per year now attributed to opioids. Graphs from the CDC show the geographic distribution of the epidemic and demonstrate that nearly the entire United States is involved. This tragic death toll has culminated in many local, state, and federal government initiatives to fix the problem, including President Trump’s recent declaration that the opioid crisis is a nationwide public health emergency. However, it is important to remember two key facts. The first is that drug overdoses are not all from opioids. It is true that while roughly two-thirds of these deaths are from opioids, the other third are caused by other drugs. For example, in 2015 there were about 52,000 overdose deaths overall, and 33,000 involved an opioid; 19,000 were caused by other substances. The second fact to consider is that despite efforts to reduce gender and racial inequalities in our country, there is still a considerable difference in the life experience between men and women and between different racial and ethnic groups. With an eye toward these factors — that opioids are not the only cause of overdose death and that inequalities exist in our country — if we want to solve the opioid epidemic we, as a society, must rea...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Addiction Behavioral Health Source Type: blogs