Reduce Substance Misuse
Return to Opioid Top-Level Strategy Map
Although the rise in opioid use and the harm it has placed on society has rightfully recieved the greatest amount of attention in recent years, addiction to other drugs continues to make up a significant portion of America's overall epidemic. Many other substances, including stimulants and alcohol, continue to cause suffering and take the lives of thousands each year. More recently, opioids have been combined with other drugs with greater frequency, making it even more critical that we address substance misuse and substance use disorder accross all substances.
Background
Opioids
The misuse of opioids has reached epidemic levels in the United States. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that between 1999 and 2014, prescription opioid sales in the U.S. have nearly quadrupled. They also estimate that 1 in 5 patients with non-cancer pain are prescribed opioids. [1] In 2015, there were about 300 million pain prescriptions written. [2] The prevalence of opioid use is so great that in 2015, 97.5 million (36.4%) Americans used prescription pain relievers.[3] Americans, who make up about 5% of the worlds population, consume about 80% of the global opioid supply. [4] High prescription and use rates lead to frightening statistics on the epidemic problem of misuse:- Approximately 21% - 29% of prescription opioid users misuse [5]
- In 2012, over 5% of the U.S. population aged 12 and above misused opioid pain relievers [6]
- In 2012, there were 16,007 deaths involving prescription opioid misuse and 5,925 involving heroin [7]
- Between 1999 and 2012, the rate of drug-poisoning deaths due to prescription opioids more than tripled, from
1.4 deaths per 100,000 in 1999 to 5.1 in 2012 [8] - From 2005 to 2012, the number of past-year heroin users in the U.S. nearly doubled from 380,000 to 670,000 [9]
- Between 1999 and 2012, the rate of drug-poisoning deaths due to heroin nearly tripled, from 0.7 deaths per 100,000 in 1999 to 1.9 in 2012 [10]
- From 2004 to 2008, the number of emergency department visits related to prescribed opioids increased by 111%. This rate continues to rise [11]
- Estimates show that misuse of opioid pain relievers costs insurance companies $72.5 billion annually for health-care costs [12]
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Sources
- ^ https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/data/prescribing.html
- ^ http://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/27/americans-consume-almost-all-of-the-global-opioid-supply.html
- ^ https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/NSDUH-FFR2-2015/NSDUH-FFR2-2015.htm
- ^ http://www.painphysicianjournal.com/current/pdf?article=OTgz&journal=42
- ^ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25785523
- ^ https://archives.drugabuse.gov/testimonies/2014/americas-addiction-to-opioids-heroin-prescription-drug-abuse
- ^ https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/drug_poisoning/drug_poisoning.htm
- ^ https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/drug_poisoning/drug_poisoning.htm
- ^ https://archives.drugabuse.gov/testimonies/2014/americas-addiction-to-opioids-heroin-prescription-drug-abuse
- ^ https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/drug_poisoning/drug_poisoning.htm
- ^ http://www.ashp.org/DocLibrary/AJHP/Opioid-abuse-and-misuse.pdf
- ^ [https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/drug_poisoning/drug_poisoning.htm
