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9.25.2011

Painpill Addiction Fatalities Surpass Auto Deaths. The Accidental Overdose


As I have been saying for years now, Big Pharma has led to a new "addict," the accidental addict, if you will.
The old disease model of drug addiction was simply explained as an abuser who came hardwired...a frame of mind that made him/her compulsive, extreme, avoidant, or risk-seeking. Possibly genetically predisposed because of heredity, or, environmentally shaped (mom and dad were poor role models). Even urban poverty and early childhood violence has been linked to drug addiction and substance abuse.
But, as we can see with these new statistics here, reflecting an over-abundance - a prevalence so great - of pill distribution, fueled by top tier marketing, pill administering has become matter of fact commonplace. Even, dare I say, a mind-set that encourages pill taking as the "new normal."
Pharmaceutical companies have won the war - most U.S. Citizens are oblivious to the subtle and pervasive campaign towards profit making, a la J.R. Reynolds and the Tobacco Industry. Health and welfare of the consumer be damned.

I will continue to sound the alarm bells on this issue of painpill overdose and dependence, as my blog and Facebook posts have been doing for quite some time now.

Below, a synopsis of the recent L.A. Times article. More to come.
"Fueling the surge in deaths are prescription pain and anxiety drugs that are potent, highly addictive and especially dangerous when combined with one another or with other drugs or alcohol. Among the most commonly abused are OxyContin, Vicodin, Xanax and Soma. One relative newcomer to the scene is Fentanyl, a painkiller that comes in the form of patches and lollipops and is 100 times more powerful than morphine.
Such drugs now cause more deaths than heroin and cocaine combined.
A review of hundreds of autopsy reports in Southern California reveals one tragic demise after another: A 19-year-old Army recruit, who had just passed his military physical, took a handful of Xanax and painkillers while partying with friends. A groom, anxious over his upcoming wedding, overdosed on a cocktail of prescription drugs. A teenage honors student overdosed on painkillers her father left in his medicine cabinet from a surgery years earlier. A toddler was orphaned after both parents overdosed on prescription drugs months apart. A grandmother suffering from chronic back pain apparently forgot she'd already taken her daily regimen of pills and ended up double dosing
The rise in deaths corresponds with doctors prescribing more painkillers and anti-anxiety medications. The number of prescriptions for the strongest pain pills filled at California pharmacies, for instance, increased more than 43% since 2007 — and the doses grew by even more, nearly 50%, according to a review of prescribing data collected by the state.
Those prescriptions provide relief to pain sufferers but also fuel a thriving black market. Prescription drugs are traded on Internet chat rooms that buzz with offers of "vikes," "percs" and "oxys" for $10 to $80 a pill. They are sold on street corners along with heroin, marijuana and crack. An addiction to prescription drugs can be costly; a heavy OxyContin habit can run twice as much as a heroin addiction, authorities say.
The most commonly abused prescription drug, hydrocodone, also is the most widely prescribed drug in America, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. Better known as Vicodin, the pain reliever is prescribed more often than the top cholesterol drug and the top antibiotic.
The most commonly abused prescription drug, hydrocodone, also is the most widely prescribed drug in America, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. Better known as Vicodin, the pain reliever is prescribed more often than the top cholesterol drug and the top antibiotic
Overdose victims range in age and circumstance from teenagers who pop pills to get a heroin-like high to middle-aged working men and women who take medications prescribed for strained backs and bum knees and become addicted
Drug fatalities more than doubled among teens and young adults between 2000 and 2008, years for which more detailed data are available. Deaths more than tripled among people aged 50 to 69, the Times analysis found. In terms of sheer numbers, the death toll is highest among people in their 40s."