Prescriptions Now Biggest Cause of Fatal Drug Overdoses

Addiction to prescription painkillers — which kill thousands of Americans a year — has become a largely unrecognized epidemic, experts say. In fact, prescription drugs cause most of the more than 26,000 fatal overdoses each year, says Leonard Paulozzi of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the past, most overdoses were due to illegal narcotics, such as heroin, with most deaths in big cities. Prescription painkillers have now surpassed heroin and cocaine, however, as the leading cause of fatal overdoses, Paulozzi says. And the rate of fatal overdoses is now about as high in rural areas — 7.8 deaths per 100,000 people — as in cities, where the rate is 7.9 deaths per 100,000 people, according to a paper he published last year in Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety.

"The biggest and fastest-growing part of America's drug problem is prescription drug abuse," says Robert DuPont, a former White House drug czar and a former director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. "The statistics are unmistakable."

About 120,000 Americans a year go to the emergency room after overdosing on opioid painkillers, says Laxmaiah Manchikanti, chief executive officer and board chairman for the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians.

USA Today October 2, 2009

Dr. Aaron's Comments
- Why do so many Americans turn to drugs as the solution to their problem? Maybe it's because we teach children when there is something wrong to take a pill to fix the problem. We tell them to say no to drugs but put a drug store on every corner of our towns. I am not against drugs when they are used properly but I am against the overuse and abuse of drugs in this country. Satan is getting a foothold on our lives through sickness and disease and then has fooled us into believing that drugs are the solution.

- The numbers of people dying from prescription drugs is much higher than what the article talks about. The article talks about people overdosing on the drugs. What about the people that die due to long term use, or having a reaction to the drug, or if it causes other organs to shut down. To learn more about the true numbers go to

http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2006/aug2006_report_death_01.htm

- There are so many other natural options to deal with health issues that cause people to end up on drugs (too many to list here). At Valeo Health and Wellness Center our goal is to get to the cause of your health issue, resolve it and then help you stay healthy! It's cheaper, it's the right way to do it and the only side effects are more energy, feeling better, and a longer life!