prescription drug overdose

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Life Expectancy Is on the Rise Again, With Caveats

COVID and drug overdoses still pose an issue, per the CDC

(Newser) - Life expectancy in the United States is on the upswing once again, its first positive motion in two years. NPR reports on new CDC stats that show in 2022, the average came in at 77.5 years, an increase from the 76.4 years set in 2021. But both COVID...

Amid the Pandemic, Another 'Staggering Loss'

93K Americans died of drug overdoses in 2020, a record high

(Newser) - Overdose deaths soared to a record 93,000 last year in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the US government reported Wednesday. That estimate far eclipses the high of about 72,000 drug overdose deaths reached the previous year and amounts to a 29% increase. "This is a staggering...

Test Reveals Saoirse Kennedy Hill's Cause of Death

It was an accidental OD from alcohol, methadone, prescription drugs

(Newser) - The autopsy for Saoirse Kennedy Hill in August didn't offer much insight into how she died, but now the toxicology tests are in: The death certificate for the 22-year-old notes she suffered an accidental overdose from a lethal mix of alcohol, methadone, and prescription drugs, per WCVB . Besides the...

In This State, a 'Mind-Boggling' Stat on Death Rates

WVa.'s drug OD rate has seen huge growth; US seeing record rates in 'deaths of despair' overall

(Newser) - Mortality rates in the US from drug overdoses, alcohol, and suicides have reached an all-time high, per a new report, and one region of the country is especially hard-hit. NBC News cites the survey from the Commonwealth Fund health advocacy group that takes a close look at 2017 data from...

Cops: Doctor Prescribed Too Much Fentanyl, Killed 25

William Husel has been charged in the 25 deaths

(Newser) - Authorities say an Ohio doctor is responsible for the deaths of 25 patients for whom he prescribed excessive doses of the opioid painkiller fentanyl. William Husel has been charged in all those deaths following a six-month investigation, reports NBC News , which calls the deaths "a stunning case of medical...

Ominous New Stat on Opioid Deaths Released

Americans have greater chance of dying of an overdose than in a car crash

(Newser) - It's no secret that opioid deaths are rising in the US, but a new statistic brings home the danger. For the first time, Americans now have a greater chance of dying from an accidental opioid overdose than from a motor vehicle crash, reports USA Today . The stat comes from...

Ohio Handing Out Money for High-Tech Solutions to Opioid Crisis

So far, 44 organizations have submitted project ideas

(Newser) - A call by Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich for scientific breakthroughs to help solve the opioid crisis is drawing interest from dozens of groups, with ideas including remote-controlled medication dispensers, monitoring devices for addicts, mobile apps, and pain-relieving massage gloves. The state has received project ideas from 44 hospitals, universities,...

Ohio Sues 5 Drugmakers, Says They Caused Deadly Mess

'This lawsuit is about justice, it's about fairness'

(Newser) - The Ohio attorney general sued five drugmakers on Wednesday, accusing the companies of perpetrating the state's addictions epidemic by intentionally misleading patients about the dangers of painkillers and promoting benefits of the drugs not backed by science. Attorney General Mike DeWine said the companies created a deadly mess in...

1 in 11 Organ Donors Died of Drug Overdose Last Year

More than 20 people die every day waiting for an organ transplant

(Newser) - As the number of Americans dying of drug overdoses continues to rise—thanks in large part to an opioid epidemic—so too has the number of organ donors. In fact, the percentage of donors who died of overdoses has nearly tripled since 2006, according to data gathered by the United...

Why Young Whites Are Dying Off

Drug overdose is a leading cause

(Newser) - Young white people have a problem that's only getting worse: death by drug overdose. According to a New York Times analysis of almost 60 million death certificates, young whites are dying off faster than they have since the AIDS epidemic, while young blacks and Hispanics are generally seeing death...

CVS Makes Big Move in Fight Against Heroin Deaths

Stores in 14 states can now offer overdose-antidote drug naloxone without prescription

(Newser) - People in 14 states can now walk into a CVS and pick up an opioid-overdose antidote without a prescription, the company announced yesterday. Naloxone was already available in stores in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, but now Arkansas, California, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah,...

In 2 Years, Heroin Deaths Double

Heroin-related deaths double over 28 states from 2010 to 2012: study

(Newser) - Heroin deaths are rising as deaths related to prescription painkiller overdoses decline, a report finds. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says heroin-related deaths doubled from 2010 to 2012, based on data from 28 states, HealthDay reports. Each state saw a boost in heroin-related deaths—and in the Northeast,...

Medical Marijuana May Cut Painkiller ODs

States with new laws see drop in opioid deaths

(Newser) - The solution to America's addiction to painkillers may be … more drugs? A new study found a drop in painkiller overdose deaths in 13 states that allowed medical marijuana, CNN reports. That's because a patient prescribed marijuana will either stop taking opioids or take less of them, researchers...

You'll Soon Be Able to Buy Heroin Overdose Antidote

Gets FDA's OK

(Newser) - Friends and family will be now able to take the first step to save a loved one from an overdose of heroin or powerful painkillers called opioids, including OxyContin and Vicodin. The Food and Drug Administration has approved an easy-to-use device that automatically injects the right dose of an overdose...

Jersey Shore's New Problem: Heroin Overdoses

Fatal overdoses more than doubled last year in Ocean County, NJ

(Newser) - It's been a rough week for New Jersey , and an NBC News investigation only adds to the state's woes: It found that fatal heroin and prescription drug overdoses at the Jersey Shore more than doubled last year, with 112 deaths in Ocean County compared to 2012's 53...

World's Most Popular Drug: Pot



 World's Most 
 Popular Drug: Pot 
study says
Aug 29, 2013 12:03 AM CDT

World's Most Popular Drug: Pot

But painkillers behind most deaths

(Newser) - Researchers have, for the first time, conducted a worldwide survey on illegal drug use, and they learned that the most popular one on the planet is marijuana. But the drugs that are killing the most people are strong painkillers, Vicodin, OxyContin, and codeine among them, the AP reports, as per...

Painkiller Deaths Rise Again in US

Increase defies push to curb abuse of drugs such as Vicodin, OxyContin

(Newser) - The number of deaths attributed to abuse of prescription drugs such as Vicodin and OxyContin rose again in the latest federal stats, reports the Los Angeles Times . Those types of drugs are largely responsible for a 3% increase in overall drug fatalities in 2010, say CDC researchers, and preliminary numbers...

Fatal Drug ODs Rise 11th Straight Year

Prescription medications at core of problem

(Newser) - Fatal drug overdoses rose for the 11th straight year, federal data show, and most of them were accidents involving addictive painkillers despite growing attention to their risks. "The big picture is that this is a big problem that has gotten much worse quickly," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, head...

Painkiller Sales Exploding in New Parts of US

Pharmacies sold equivalent of 69 tons of pure oxycodone in 2010

(Newser) - Prescription painkiller addiction is a problem that's only getting uglier, reports the AP after analyzing a slew of DEA and pharmaceutical figures. The report focuses on sales of America's leading two prescription painkillers: oxycodone (the key ingredient in OxyContin, Percocet, and Percodan) and hydrocodone (Vicodin, Norco, and Lortab)....

No. 1 Cause of Overdose Deaths: Painkillers

Topping heroin, cocaine combined

(Newser) - Are prescription drugs more dangerous than their illegal counterparts? In 2008, prescription painkiller overdoses outnumbered deaths from heroin and cocaine combined, according to a new CDC report. Of the 36,450 US overdose deaths that year, 14,800 involved opioid painkillers like oxycodone, methadone, or hydrocodone. That’s a significant...

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