from high-profile cases to everyday
issues prescription drugs are
continually causing problems across the
United States
welcome to watchmojo.com and
we’re counting down ten crucial facts
you should know about America’s
prescription drug addiction number ten
how bad is America’s prescription drug
problem for most of us when we discuss
drug problems we’re likely thinking of
recreational substances illicit drugs
and criminal underworlds however in 2016
America finds itself suffering from an
epidemic caused by prescription drugs
the number of people routinely using
opioids antidepressants and other
pharmacy bought products has steadily
risen in recent years creating a
generation hooked on legal accessible
drugs according to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention the
amount of prescription opioids sold in
the US has almost quadrupled since 1999
and the amount of deaths caused by them
has also increased fourfold the World
Health Organization has reported that
the problem threatens quote the
achievements of modern medicine number
nine what kind of prescription drugs are
being abused a prescription opioid is
given as a painkiller and these include
medications such as hydrocodone
oxycodone and codeine according to the
National Institute on Drug Abuse
hydrocodone is particularly prescribed
for injury related pain or dental
problems
codeine use is also common as the drug
is given from mild aches and pains and
in certain cases is even available
without a prescription
however while these drugs are effective
when taken according to the directions
these recommendations are increasingly
ignored and the substances are abused to
disastrous effect users take more of the
drug than they should more often than
they should or else take drugs
prescribed for somebody else number
eight what are the consequences of
prescription drug addiction a reason
often cited for regular use of
prescription drugs is that the user
feels as though it helps him or
maintain focus however in December 2015
CNBC reported that a National Safety
Council survey found that as much as
eighty percent of employers in Indiana
had come into contact with prescription
drug abuse through their employees a
statistic that’s likely representative
of America as a whole estimates claimed
that the US economy is hit 460 billion
dollars annually as a result with almost
50 percent of that attributed to
workplace costs such as productivity
loss even more alarming is the
ever-increasing number of prescription
drug related deaths
Business Insider says that quote these
fatalities now outnumber deaths from
heroin and cocaine combined and drug
watch reports that around 50 Americans
die daily from prescription painkiller
overdoses number seven who are the
biggest abusers of prescription drugs
the older generation accounts for a
significant percentage of prescription
drug addicts with experts believing that
the problem lies with a misconception
that prescriptions are automatically
safe in 2013 US doctors wrote 55 million
opioid prescriptions and twenty eight
point four million prescriptions for
depressants for patients over 65 years
of age according to the substance abuse
and mental health services
administration the number of seniors
dependent on or misusing prescription
painkillers in 2012 was more than two
and a half times higher than it was in
2002 increasing from one hundred and
thirty two thousand to three hundred and
thirty six thousand people number six
what are some high-profile cases of
abuse the problem was thrust into the
spotlight in April 2016 following the
death of pop music icon Prince soon
after his death and prior to the release
of the official autopsy results it was
heavily speculated that the artist who
was 57 when he died had become dependent
on powerful opioids after having
corrective hip surgery in 2010 other
famous deaths with links to prescription
drug addiction include philip Seymour
Hoffman’s in 2014 Whitney Houston’s in
2012 and Michael Jackson’s in 2009 a
toxicology report into the 2008 death of
actor Heath Ledger
concluded that his death was caused by
abuse of prescribed medications while
Monika Dannemann the last girlfriend of
legendary musician Jimi Hendrix
disclosed that he had taken 18 times the
recommended dosage of her prescription
sleeping pills before he died in
September 1970 number five our
prescription drugs more dangerous than
illegal drugs reports began to emerge
that prescription drugs post more of a
danger to America than illegal
substances in the 21st century according
to the Pew Health Group in 2009 the
number of people killed by drug
poisoning surpassed motor vehicle
fatalities for the first time ever due
in large part to increased prescriptions
in 2009 almost 500,000 emergency room
visits were due to prescription drug
abuse costing between 60 and 80 billion
dollars and in 2010 more people were
addicted to painkillers than they were
to cocaine heroin stimulants and
sedatives combined in 2014
Psychology Today summed up the
statistics by stating that quote
contrary to popular mythology
prescription drugs are more lethal than
illegal or street drugs number 4
how did prescription drugs become so
prevalent the prescription drug boom
happened about midway through the 20th
century valium was introduced in 1963
as one of the first aggressively
advertised drugs it became the first
ever drug to reach 1 billion dollars in
sales with analysts estimating that more
than 2 billion pills were taken by
Americans in 1978 xanax arrived in 1981
as a treatment for anxiety while a
recent rise in ADHD diagnosis has
resulted in increased availability of
further prescription stimulants the
first antidepressants were introduced in
the 50s but the FDA only approved Prozac
in the late 80s in 2010 over 20 4.4
million prescriptions for Prozac were
given in America number 3 how big is the
pharmaceutical industry statistics that
the US pharmaceutical industry makes up
around 40 percent of the global
pharmaceutical market as 6 out of the
planet’s top 11 drug company
are based in America pharmaceutical
research and manufacturers of America
describes the biopharmaceutical sector
as quote a major contributor to the US
economy valuing it at seven hundred and
ninety billion dollars annually and
attributing to it around 3.4 million
jobs in 2015 Forbes listed Johnson &
Johnson as America’s largest drug
company closely followed by Pfizer the
former of which has a market cap at two
hundred and seventy five point seven
billion dollars while the latter clocks
in at 211 point seven billion dollars
number two what role do doctors play
since 1999
the number of opioid prescriptions
issued by American doctors to adults and
children has unquestionably increased
the rise can be linked to well-meaning
doctors changing their approach in the
1980s and 90s when more emphasis was
given to relieving patients of pain the
problem then was all ego analgesia what
the under treatment of pain is called in
the scientific community as more
tolerance was expected from patients
however as medicine advanced the ability
to alleviate pain was developed and such
medications were given out generously
now according to an estimate by the
National Academy of Medicine formerly
the Institute of Medicine around 100
million Americans have chronic pain the
numbers now seem too top-heavy the other
way where once too many people were in
pain now too many are too readily
diagnosed as suffering from it number
one how will this affect future
generations America’s addiction to
prescription drugs is set to continue
for years to come though it will likely
be routinely put under scrutiny with
every high-profile victim however
Americans and the international
community as a whole should expect
prescription drugs to become
increasingly difficult to obtain as
authorities and health agencies try to
regain control of the situation
in October 2015 President Barack Obama
announced a plan to combat opioid abuse
labeling it a national priority there’s
a huge emphasis on doctors and their
prescribing painkillers and
antidepressants appropriately but the
general public also has a responsibility
to recognize the
dangers for physicians doing what’s best
for the patient is a balancing act
achieved a little more easily with
understanding from the other side of the
desk did these facts get you thinking
to vote for which news story is covered
next head over to watchmojo.com slash
suggest and be sure to hit that
subscribe button for more newsworthy top
10s published every week
issues prescription drugs are
continually causing problems across the
United States
welcome to watchmojo.com and
we’re counting down ten crucial facts
you should know about America’s
prescription drug addiction number ten
how bad is America’s prescription drug
problem for most of us when we discuss
drug problems we’re likely thinking of
recreational substances illicit drugs
and criminal underworlds however in 2016
America finds itself suffering from an
epidemic caused by prescription drugs
the number of people routinely using
opioids antidepressants and other
pharmacy bought products has steadily
risen in recent years creating a
generation hooked on legal accessible
drugs according to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention the
amount of prescription opioids sold in
the US has almost quadrupled since 1999
and the amount of deaths caused by them
has also increased fourfold the World
Health Organization has reported that
the problem threatens quote the
achievements of modern medicine number
nine what kind of prescription drugs are
being abused a prescription opioid is
given as a painkiller and these include
medications such as hydrocodone
oxycodone and codeine according to the
National Institute on Drug Abuse
hydrocodone is particularly prescribed
for injury related pain or dental
problems
codeine use is also common as the drug
is given from mild aches and pains and
in certain cases is even available
without a prescription
however while these drugs are effective
when taken according to the directions
these recommendations are increasingly
ignored and the substances are abused to
disastrous effect users take more of the
drug than they should more often than
they should or else take drugs
prescribed for somebody else number
eight what are the consequences of
prescription drug addiction a reason
often cited for regular use of
prescription drugs is that the user
feels as though it helps him or
maintain focus however in December 2015
CNBC reported that a National Safety
Council survey found that as much as
eighty percent of employers in Indiana
had come into contact with prescription
drug abuse through their employees a
statistic that’s likely representative
of America as a whole estimates claimed
that the US economy is hit 460 billion
dollars annually as a result with almost
50 percent of that attributed to
workplace costs such as productivity
loss even more alarming is the
ever-increasing number of prescription
drug related deaths
Business Insider says that quote these
fatalities now outnumber deaths from
heroin and cocaine combined and drug
watch reports that around 50 Americans
die daily from prescription painkiller
overdoses number seven who are the
biggest abusers of prescription drugs
the older generation accounts for a
significant percentage of prescription
drug addicts with experts believing that
the problem lies with a misconception
that prescriptions are automatically
safe in 2013 US doctors wrote 55 million
opioid prescriptions and twenty eight
point four million prescriptions for
depressants for patients over 65 years
of age according to the substance abuse
and mental health services
administration the number of seniors
dependent on or misusing prescription
painkillers in 2012 was more than two
and a half times higher than it was in
2002 increasing from one hundred and
thirty two thousand to three hundred and
thirty six thousand people number six
what are some high-profile cases of
abuse the problem was thrust into the
spotlight in April 2016 following the
death of pop music icon Prince soon
after his death and prior to the release
of the official autopsy results it was
heavily speculated that the artist who
was 57 when he died had become dependent
on powerful opioids after having
corrective hip surgery in 2010 other
famous deaths with links to prescription
drug addiction include philip Seymour
Hoffman’s in 2014 Whitney Houston’s in
2012 and Michael Jackson’s in 2009 a
toxicology report into the 2008 death of
actor Heath Ledger
concluded that his death was caused by
abuse of prescribed medications while
Monika Dannemann the last girlfriend of
legendary musician Jimi Hendrix
disclosed that he had taken 18 times the
recommended dosage of her prescription
sleeping pills before he died in
September 1970 number five our
prescription drugs more dangerous than
illegal drugs reports began to emerge
that prescription drugs post more of a
danger to America than illegal
substances in the 21st century according
to the Pew Health Group in 2009 the
number of people killed by drug
poisoning surpassed motor vehicle
fatalities for the first time ever due
in large part to increased prescriptions
in 2009 almost 500,000 emergency room
visits were due to prescription drug
abuse costing between 60 and 80 billion
dollars and in 2010 more people were
addicted to painkillers than they were
to cocaine heroin stimulants and
sedatives combined in 2014
Psychology Today summed up the
statistics by stating that quote
contrary to popular mythology
prescription drugs are more lethal than
illegal or street drugs number 4
how did prescription drugs become so
prevalent the prescription drug boom
happened about midway through the 20th
century valium was introduced in 1963
as one of the first aggressively
advertised drugs it became the first
ever drug to reach 1 billion dollars in
sales with analysts estimating that more
than 2 billion pills were taken by
Americans in 1978 xanax arrived in 1981
as a treatment for anxiety while a
recent rise in ADHD diagnosis has
resulted in increased availability of
further prescription stimulants the
first antidepressants were introduced in
the 50s but the FDA only approved Prozac
in the late 80s in 2010 over 20 4.4
million prescriptions for Prozac were
given in America number 3 how big is the
pharmaceutical industry statistics that
the US pharmaceutical industry makes up
around 40 percent of the global
pharmaceutical market as 6 out of the
planet’s top 11 drug company
are based in America pharmaceutical
research and manufacturers of America
describes the biopharmaceutical sector
as quote a major contributor to the US
economy valuing it at seven hundred and
ninety billion dollars annually and
attributing to it around 3.4 million
jobs in 2015 Forbes listed Johnson &
Johnson as America’s largest drug
company closely followed by Pfizer the
former of which has a market cap at two
hundred and seventy five point seven
billion dollars while the latter clocks
in at 211 point seven billion dollars
number two what role do doctors play
since 1999
the number of opioid prescriptions
issued by American doctors to adults and
children has unquestionably increased
the rise can be linked to well-meaning
doctors changing their approach in the
1980s and 90s when more emphasis was
given to relieving patients of pain the
problem then was all ego analgesia what
the under treatment of pain is called in
the scientific community as more
tolerance was expected from patients
however as medicine advanced the ability
to alleviate pain was developed and such
medications were given out generously
now according to an estimate by the
National Academy of Medicine formerly
the Institute of Medicine around 100
million Americans have chronic pain the
numbers now seem too top-heavy the other
way where once too many people were in
pain now too many are too readily
diagnosed as suffering from it number
one how will this affect future
generations America’s addiction to
prescription drugs is set to continue
for years to come though it will likely
be routinely put under scrutiny with
every high-profile victim however
Americans and the international
community as a whole should expect
prescription drugs to become
increasingly difficult to obtain as
authorities and health agencies try to
regain control of the situation
in October 2015 President Barack Obama
announced a plan to combat opioid abuse
labeling it a national priority there’s
a huge emphasis on doctors and their
prescribing painkillers and
antidepressants appropriately but the
general public also has a responsibility
to recognize the
dangers for physicians doing what’s best
for the patient is a balancing act
achieved a little more easily with
understanding from the other side of the
desk did these facts get you thinking
to vote for which news story is covered
next head over to watchmojo.com slash
suggest and be sure to hit that
subscribe button for more newsworthy top
10s published every week
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