When we think of drug addiction, most of us think of illegal drugs. However, studies have found that over-prescribing painkillers is starting a potential epidemic of people getting addicted to prescription medications.
Apparently, some manufacturers and marketers may be allegedly going above and beyond to ensure health providers underestimate the strength and prevalence of prescribed drugs. Some suggest that hospitals and pharmacies are prescribing excessively strong doses of addictive medication like opioids, fuelling a public dependency and consequential addiction.
A study was carried out in the U.S. by 72,600 civilians, and the results are startling. Here are some of the key findings:
| Around 91.8 million U.S. citizens are prescribed opioids. That equates to 37.8% of the nation’s population. |
| 5% misused their prescribed opioids, and within this percentage, 16.7% reported a prescription opioid use disorder. |
| With such a vast amount of opioids being prescribed, 59.9% of adults who misuse drugs can get their hands on these powerful drugs without having a prescription and 40.8% being able to get them for free off friends and family. |
Surprising findings…
Dr Wilson, who co-authored the study, was reportedly surprised with the findings himself. His main concern is that the results indicate healthcare providers are not appropriately prescribing opioid painkillers. The results showed an increase of “four times the rate of prescribing [than] there was 15 years ago“. The last statistic listed above shows that a lot of people are receiving opioids they don’t even need and can pass them on to friends are family who may misuse them.
Pain relief the most common reason for misuse
The most common reason for misuse was for pain relief; the drug’s intended purpose. However, recent lawsuits allege that this reason has been unnaturally inflated by manufacturers who repeatedly stand to profit from increased dependency and addiction. Major pharmaceutical companies are being sued for alleged deceptive advertising and employing allegedly excessive and aggressive marketing techniques to ‘push‘ opioids, like OxyContin.
Although this study was conducted in the U.S., here across the pond, we need to be careful too. Living in a consumerist world, we are used to products being constantly created to make our lives easier. We expect medicine to advance to a stage where any ailment can be treated quickly and effectively, with pain management at the forefront. We here in the U.K. are already in the midst of what some experts have suggested is an over-prescription of medication epidemic too, so we really do need to be careful.
Opioids remain “highly addictive”
Pain relief is a fundamental part of healthcare but it must be treated with care. Strong prescription painkillers must be carefully calculated in accordance to the individual’s own health circumstances and needs. The strength of opioids, like OxyContin, can make them highly addictive and potentially deadly. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believe the number of deaths from opioid overdose has quadrupled since 1999.
The reported epidemic is now considered national and it’s feared that it may not take much for the U.K. to follow in the footsteps of what’s happening in the U.S. unless we take steps now to prevent over-prescribing medications.
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