According to Consumer Reports, prescriptions for opioid medications, including OxyContin, Percocet, and Vicodin, have increased 300 percent over the past decade, and 46 people each day, or 17,000 people each year, die from prescription painkiller overdoses. More significantly, for each fatal overdose, more than 30 people are admitted to an emergency room due to overdoses or medication complications.
According to a 2013 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than four times as many people have died from prescription painkiller-related deaths over the past decade as have died from cocaine and heroin combined. The study showed that in 2010, more than 60 percent of the nearly 40,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States were the result of a prescription painkiller.
In the same year, Mayo Clinic released a report that showed 70 percent of Americans had received at least one prescription over the previous year, and that opioid painkillers were in the top three most commonly prescribed medications. Women are affected by prescription painkiller addiction more often than men, according to the report, because women are more likely to be diagnosed with chronic pain, and are more likely to report it at a higher intensity.
They Are Highly Addictive
Opioid painkillers can be as addictive as heroin, and women are at higher risk of becoming addicted to prescription painkillers after having them prescribed. Women are also more apt than men to “doctor shop,” or visit multiple doctors in the hopes of getting multiple or higher prescriptions for painkillers once addicted. Opioid painkillers are effective when used short-term to treat pain from injury or surgery, but will require higher and higher doses to remain effective when used to treat long-term pain, such as chronic back pain.