The Center for Disease control today released new findings on prescription drug overdoses. According to the latest findings, prescription drug abuse has skyrocketed in the past decade. Some of the other stats include:
- Prescription painkiller overdoses killed nearly 15,000 people in the US in 2008. This is more than 3 times the 4,000 people killed by these drugs in 1999.
- In 2010, about 12 million Americans (age 12 or older) reported nonmedical use of prescription painkillers in the past year.
- Nearly half a million emergency department visits in 2009 were due to people misusing or abusing prescription painkillers.
- Nonmedical use of prescription painkillers costs health insurers up to $72.5 billion annually in direct health care costs.
The entire article can be read here. Information courtesy of the Center for Disease Control.