Prescription Abuse Is A Growing Epidemic, Say Federal Officials
Prescription drug abuse is a growing, but silent epidemic unique to the United States, according to some U.S. lawmakers and government officials who discussed the topic in Atlanta Wednesday.
Prescription drug-related deaths increased 400 percent in the past decade, according to the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Speaking at the National Prescription Drug Abuse Summit, CDC Director Tom Frieden said prescription drug abuse has created an epidemic.As heard on the radio
“[The drugs] have enormous risks, and the risks may outweigh the benefits for the great majority of patients who are currently being prescribed these medications,” Frieden said, adding fighting the addiction will take collaboration among doctors, government, law enforcement and communities.
Congress is considering a bill that would require some prescriptions to be sold in casings that can’t be crushed up or melted.
“We’re less than five percent of the world’s population, but we use 99 percent of hydrocodone,” said Democratic Rep. Bill Keating, the bill’s sponsor. Keating appeared at the summit with four other U.S. House members as part of a congressional panel discussing the subject.
Hydrocodone is often prescribed as a pain-killer, but can become habit forming.
Other legislative efforts include a bill to reverse a decision by the Food and Drug Administration to approve Zohydro, a narcotic painkiller that critics say is addictive and easy to abuse.
The summit ends Thursday.
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