Ninety-five percent of unintentional poisoning deaths are drug overdoses; in recent years, prescription-drug overdoses have overtaken cocaine and heroin overdoses as the leading cause of poisoning deaths, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said. In fact, a recent spike in prescription-drug overdoses is the cause of the first increase in the nation’s injury death rate in 25 years, according to CDC injury-prevention expert Len Paulozzi.
Most overdose deaths are due to opioid painkillers like oxycodone, fentanyl and methadone. But other prescription drugs also can cause fatal overdoses, such as sleeping pills, antidepressants and tranquilizers. Overdoses from the latter group of drugs increased 84 percent between 1999 and 2004, the CDC said.
Overall, sales of prescription drugs have increased almost 500 percent since 1990.
This article was originally published by Join Together. It is available online at http://www.jointogether.org/news/headlines/inthenews/2008/prescription-drugs-blamed-for.html
This article was brought to you by Aroostook Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP), a countywide substance abuse prevention collaborative. For more information, contact Clare Desrosiers, Project Director, 521-2408, or Allison Heidorn, Project Assistant, 498-2979.
What you need to know — ASAP
Sponsored by the Aroostook Substance Abuse Prevention Collaborative
Overdose deaths have risen dramatically in the past eight years both nationally and in Maine and the increase can largely be attributed to prescription drug overdoses.
