Reducing the illegal use of prescription drugs and narcotics has led to the reduction in death rates due to opioid overdose in Florida, revealed a new study.
Recent CDC reports have showed that the mortality rates due to prescription opioid overdose are increasing in the US. But the new study published in the American Journal of Public Health has reported that the deaths due to drug overdose have reduced in Florida compared to North Carolina.
Deaths Due To Drug Overdose On Rise In The US: CDC
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data shows there were 47,055 deaths from drug overdose across the country in 2014.
Advertisement
‘Cracking down of “pill mills” has led to reduction of painkiller overdose deaths and heroin overdose deaths in Florida.’
Tweet it Now
Florida Health authorities have crackdown "pill mills", clinics where doctors prescribe narcotic painkillers for cash, often without examining the patient. This has helped reduce painkiller overdose deaths and heroin overdose deaths as well.
"Curbing the operation of pill mills may be an effective way for states to reduce prescription narcotic overdose death rates and total narcotic overdose death rates," said lead researcher Alene Kennedy-Hendricks, an assistant scientist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore.
![Alarming Increase in the Number of Deaths due to Heroin Use and Overdose in the US]( "Alarming Increase in the Number of Deaths due to Heroin Use and Overdose in the US")
Abuse or dependence on opioid painkillers was the strongest risk factor for heroin use or dependence. The low cost of heroin is also a draw for addicts.
In 2010 and 2011, Florida passed laws against pill mills, where drug enforcement programs resulted in the arrest and prosecution of doctors operating these clinics.
The study compared Florida overdose trends to those in North Carolina. There were nearly 12,000 deaths in Florida and more than 3,700 deaths in North Carolina from narcotic painkillers or heroin between 2003 and 2012.
From March until December 2010, the death rate from prescription painkiller overdoses in Florida was 7 percent lower than expected. In 2011, the rate was 20 percent lower and in 2012, 34.5 percent lower, the study found.
"Over the nearly three years included in the study, an estimated 1,029 lives were saved in Florida. Moreover, the number of lives saved grew each year as new measures were taken to close pill mills," the researchers said.
"However, we found that the state actions were associated with much lower total narcotic overdose death rates than we would have expected had Florida not implemented these interventions. It is possible that these actions targeting pill mills prevented new prescription narcotic addictions from developing, thus reducing the risk of heroin use," said Kennedy-Hendricks.
Source: Medindia
Alarming Increase in the Number of Deaths due to Heroin Use and Overdose in the US
Abuse or dependence on opioid painkillers was the strongest risk factor for heroin use or dependence. The low cost of heroin is also a draw for addicts.
Advertisement
In 2010 and 2011, Florida passed laws against pill mills, where drug enforcement programs resulted in the arrest and prosecution of doctors operating these clinics.
The study compared Florida overdose trends to those in North Carolina. There were nearly 12,000 deaths in Florida and more than 3,700 deaths in North Carolina from narcotic painkillers or heroin between 2003 and 2012.
From March until December 2010, the death rate from prescription painkiller overdoses in Florida was 7 percent lower than expected. In 2011, the rate was 20 percent lower and in 2012, 34.5 percent lower, the study found.
"Over the nearly three years included in the study, an estimated 1,029 lives were saved in Florida. Moreover, the number of lives saved grew each year as new measures were taken to close pill mills," the researchers said.
"However, we found that the state actions were associated with much lower total narcotic overdose death rates than we would have expected had Florida not implemented these interventions. It is possible that these actions targeting pill mills prevented new prescription narcotic addictions from developing, thus reducing the risk of heroin use," said Kennedy-Hendricks.
Source: Medindia
Opioid ‘Epidemic’ Increases Mortality Rates in the United States
Deaths due to opioid overdoses that include painkillers, heroin, pill-based medications have jumped 14 percent in just one year in the US.
Advertisement
 White House Aspirants in Passionate Pleas Over Drug AddictionSeveral Republican candidates on the 2016 campaign trail have opened up about their personal connections to overdose tragedies. | Advertisement
|
Advertisement
Recommended Reading
Latest Alcohol & Drug Abuse News
Among individuals who are released from prison, opioid overdose is a leading cause of death with a risk more than ten-fold the general population.
Being recently released from prison or jail puts many at high risk of opioid overdose.
Using marijuana every day can raise a person's risk of coronary artery disease by a third compared with those who never use the drug.
Patients who are cannabis users are more often male and suffer from depression, anxiety, and schizoaffective disorders.
To help people with opioid addiction, researchers are turning to artificial intelligence to create and optimize potential new drugs.