The opioid problem in the U.S. is beginning to crystalize in the public mind. It is the leading cause of death in adults under fifty years of age. More die annually from drug overdoses than were killed in the entire Vietnam war. Opioids were responsible for 49,000 of the 72,000 drug overdose deaths overall in the USA in 2017. Life expectancy, especially among men, has declined for the first time in decades.
40% of medically treated injuries involve drugs.
70% of overdoses are prescriptions.
And now the killer: 5 to 8 percent of opiate naïve patients will transition to chronic use after one, single prescription.
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