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We are in the midst of a painkiller epidemic. A new CDC report found that more Americans die every year from overdosing on prescription pain pills, such as Vicodin and OxyContin, than die from heroin & cocaine combined. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said yesterday that the number of prescription drug deaths, about 40 a day, has more than tripled over the past decade. “We are in the midst of an epidemic of prescription narcotic overdose,” Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the CDC, said yesterday during a telebriefing. The most recent statistics, from 2008, show 36,450 drug overdose deaths. Of those, 20,044 were from prescription drugs, and 14,800 of those were narcotic painkillers — nearly four times the painkiller death toll of 4,000 in 1999.

We are in the midst of a painkiller epidemic. A new CDC report found that more Americans die every year from overdosing on prescription pain pills, such as Vicodin and OxyContin, than die from heroin & cocaine combined.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said yesterday that the number of prescription drug deaths, about 40 a day, has more than tripled over the past decade.

“We are in the midst of an epidemic of prescription narcotic overdose,” Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the CDC, said yesterday during a telebriefing.

The most recent statistics, from 2008, show 36,450 drug overdose deaths. Of those, 20,044 were from prescription drugs, and 14,800 of those were narcotic painkillers — nearly four times the painkiller death toll of 4,000 in 1999.

57 Notes

  1. etherealseaside reblogged this from world-realities
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  5. mattmeetstheinternet reblogged this from thedailyfeed and added:
    have a drug problem, alright, but are you sure they’re targeting the right stuff? We...The...
  6. stupidpeoplebreeding reblogged this from world-realities
  7. itsasecrettoeverybody reblogged this from world-realities and added:
    We are in the midst of a painkiller epidemic. A new CDC report found that more Americans die every year from overdosing...
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  9. burntherest reblogged this from world-realities
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  12. taylovesry11 reblogged this from thedailyfeed and added:
    R.I.P Bryan Joyce; My Guardian Angel
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  14. tailormadestyle reblogged this from adistinctivetaste
  15. thelyricalgangsta reblogged this from thedailyfeed and added:
    Strange how prescription drugs make up the most
  16. jamie-reads-thenews reblogged this from thedailyfeed
  17. joenuhh reblogged this from thedailyfeed
  18. adistinctivetaste reblogged this from thedailyfeed
  19. im-out-here reblogged this from thedailyfeed and added:
    BUT WE CANT LEGALIZE WEED BECAUSE ITS SO DANGEROUS!
  20. alyshabee reblogged this from mindbabies and added:
    This is useful information but I worry that this graph...mislead people into thinking
  21. soffee reblogged this from thedailyfeed
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  23. mindbabies reblogged this from thedailyfeed and added:
    Wow, this really says...lot. But, don’t Opioid Pain Relievers also count as prescription...
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