As Painkiller Addiction and Overdoses Continue to Rise, Pharmaceutical Companies Are Sued for Inciting Epidemic

Narcotic painkillers are a driving force in the rise of substance abuse and lethal overdoses. In 2012, 259 million prescriptions for opioids and other narcotic painkillers were written in the US; 46 people die from opioid overdose each and every day. Chicago and two California counties—Orange and Santa Clara—have filed a lawsuit against five drug companies that manufacture OxyContin, charging them with contributing to an epidemic of drug abuse.

Acetaminophen: More Dangerous Than You Ever Suspected

Acetaminophen overdose is the leading cause for calls to Poison Control Centers across the US—more than 100,000 instances per year. Each year, acetaminophen overdose is responsible for more than 56,000 emergency room visits, 2,600 hospitalizations, and an estimated 458 deaths due to acute liver failure. Acetaminophen poisoning is responsible for nearly HALF of ALL acute liver failure cases in the US. It can be toxic to your liver even at recommended doses when taken daily for just a couple of weeks. The FDA has issued a statement urging health professionals to discontinue prescribing and dispensing prescription combination drug products containing more than 325 mg of acetaminophen per dose.

Prescription Painkiller Drugs Kill More People Than Murders or Car Accidents in the US

Deaths caused by overdosing on painkillers now surpass murders and fatal car accidents in the US. America’s rising drug problem recently received renewed attention following the death of Philip Seymour Hoffman. The 46-year-old Oscar-winning actor died from a heroin overdose on February 2. Last year, Hoffman entered rehab when addiction to prescription painkillers led him to switch to heroin. US officials now acknowledge that narcotic painkillers are in fact a driving force in the rise of substance abuse and lethal overdoses.

Future Doctors Unprepared to Manage Pain

Chronic pain affects 100 million Americans – that’s more than the number impacted by diabetes, heart disease and cancer combined. Most suffering from pain turn to their family physician for help, but many leave the office with nothing more than a prescription for painkillers in hand. Many physicians simply do not know how to help their patients manage, or eliminate, chronic pain, and this trend is going to continue for the foreseeable future unless a radical change occurs. They resort to the only treatment they know: prescription drugs. And now we’re facing another epidemic on top of chronic pain: prescription drug abuse. Prescription drug abuse the fastest-growing drug problem in the US according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as the number of deaths from opioid painkillers like hydrocodone and oxycodone rose nearly four-fold between 1999 and 2009. The overdoses now kill more people than cocaine and heroin combined.