May 24, 2014

Prescriptions Drugs More Deadly Than Car Accidents, Guns, and Suicide

You don't need drugs if your are healthy.

From The Daily Beast

Prescriptions Drugs More Deadly Than Car Accidents, Guns, and Suicide
By Charlotte Lytton

America, we’ve got a problem: More than 100 people die each day in the U.S. because of prescription drugs.

America is in the throes of a prescription drug epidemic. More people die every day from that addiction than gunshot wounds, car accidents, or suicide—with 100 people losing their lives daily as a result of misusing medication.

The National Institute of Drug Abuse has some pretty shocking statistics detailing just how bad America’s addiction has become. For example: the US, which holds 5 percent of the world’s population, is responsible for 75 percent of global prescription drug use; 52 million people over the age of 12 have used this medication for purposes outside of what they are intended for; enough painkillers were prescribed in 2010 to medicate every American adult every four hours for a month; over half of these pills are obtained for free from a friend or family member; there are 5.1 million abusers of painkillers, 2.2 million who illegitimately take tranquilizers, and 1.1 million needlessly popping stimulants.

America, we’ve got a problem.

Painkiller addiction is also a well-known celebrity health hazard, with the likes of Winona Ryder, Jamie Lee Curtis, Matthew Perry, Charlie Sheen, and dozens more attributing their downward spirals to dependence on drugs including OxyContin, oxycodone, and Vicodin. There’s also a major concern that Hollywood’s predilection for prescription drugs in some way glamorizes their use, making it seem as though this is a trend people should be jumping on the back of and subsequently pushing their doctors for unnecessary pills in a bid to emulate their screen idols.

Read more from The Daily Beast >>

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