Gender isn’t the only risk factor for opioid painkiller dependency. Studies have shown that younger people, those who are in poorer overall health, and those with psychological issues, including depression and anxiety, are at an increased risk for dependency. Smokers and those with other addiction issues, including alcoholism, are also at greater risk for getting hooked.
They Are Readily Available.
Prescription painkillers are being distributed in higher numbers, and at higher doses, than ever before. For example, patients who are recovering from dental surgery may get a prescription for 30 pain pills, when they may only need a fraction of them. And because the perception is that these pills are safe, because they were prescribed by a doctor, people may be more likely to use them recreationally.
Other patients assume that because they have been legally prescribed the painkiller and are using it for a legitimate reason, that they are somehow immune to addiction. In fact, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 52 million Americans over the age of 12 have used prescription painkillers recreationally.
And although the United States only comprises five percent of the global population, we are responsible for 75 percent of the world’s prescription painkiller consumption.
They Can Be Gateway Drugs
More recent data has shown that we may finally be seeing a downturn in the number of deaths each year from prescription painkillers. However, there is another disturbing trend that is emerging that coincides with that downturn: a dramatic spike in the number of heroin overdoses that are occurring each year.
While the 2014 CDC report that presented this information did not draw a definitive link between the two, other research indicates that there may be a connection. According to one survey in Businessweek, four out of five new heroin users reported past prescription painkiller abuse. However, the article distinguishes that, while most new heroin users were previous opiate addicts, more opioid abusers do not move on to abuse heroin.