Within the past decade, opioid use disorder, both non-medical and prescription opioid use, has more than doubled. A new report from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) found that among adults…
- use of non-medical prescription opioids has increased by 161%
- use of prescription opioids has increased by 125%
Director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) Dr. Nora Volkrow explained that the increase in opioid abuse disorder has resulted in a number of public health issues, including a rise in overdose deaths and newborns with neonatal abstinence syndrome.
Ways that people are abusing opioids include taking the drug without a prescription, taking a larger amount than prescribed, and taking them for longer than prescribed. Ten years ago, 4.7% of Americans had used prescription opioids for non-medical use at some point in their lives. The report found that today, that percentage has jumped to 11%.
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