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Welcome to Our Generation USA!
This Page covers
Addictions
to nicotine, caffeine, alcohol, drugs and other substances (e.g., opioids) -- but also other forms of cultural dependency (e.g., gambling). Also included are recovery programs or groups, e.g. "Alcoholics Anonymous"
Addictions including Compulsive Behaviors (e.g., Gambling)
YouTube Video about The Betty Ford Center for Addiction Treatment*
*- The Betty Ford Center
Addiction is a brain disease that is characterized by compulsive engagement in rewarding stimuli, despite adverse consequences.
Despite the involvement of a number of psychosocial factors, a biological process – one which is induced by repeated exposure to an addictive stimulus – is the core pathology that drives the development and maintenance of an addiction.
The two properties that characterize all addictive stimuli are that they are reinforcing (i.e., they increase the likelihood that a person will seek repeated exposure to them) and intrinsically rewarding (i.e., perceived as being positive or desirable).
Addiction is a disorder of the brain's reward system which arises through transcriptional and epigenetic mechanisms and occurs over time from chronically high levels of exposure to an addictive stimulus (e.g., morphine, cocaine, sexual intercourse, gambling, etc.).
Addiction exacts a high toll on individuals and society as a whole through the direct adverse effects of drugs, associated healthcare costs, long-term complications (e.g., lung cancer with smoking tobacco, liver cirrhosis with drinking alcohol, or meth mouth from intravenous methamphetamine), the functional consequences of altered neural plasticity in the brain, and the consequent loss of productivity.
Classic hallmarks of addiction include impaired control over substances or behavior, preoccupation with substance or behavior, and continued use despite consequences. Habits and patterns associated with addiction are typically characterized by immediate gratification (short-term reward), coupled with delayed deleterious effects (long-term costs).
Examples of drug and behavioral addictions include:
The only behavioral addiction recognized by the DSM-5 is gambling addiction. The term addiction is misused frequently to refer to other compulsive behaviors or disorders, particularly dependence, in news media.
For further amplification, click on any of the following hyperlinks:
Despite the involvement of a number of psychosocial factors, a biological process – one which is induced by repeated exposure to an addictive stimulus – is the core pathology that drives the development and maintenance of an addiction.
The two properties that characterize all addictive stimuli are that they are reinforcing (i.e., they increase the likelihood that a person will seek repeated exposure to them) and intrinsically rewarding (i.e., perceived as being positive or desirable).
Addiction is a disorder of the brain's reward system which arises through transcriptional and epigenetic mechanisms and occurs over time from chronically high levels of exposure to an addictive stimulus (e.g., morphine, cocaine, sexual intercourse, gambling, etc.).
Addiction exacts a high toll on individuals and society as a whole through the direct adverse effects of drugs, associated healthcare costs, long-term complications (e.g., lung cancer with smoking tobacco, liver cirrhosis with drinking alcohol, or meth mouth from intravenous methamphetamine), the functional consequences of altered neural plasticity in the brain, and the consequent loss of productivity.
Classic hallmarks of addiction include impaired control over substances or behavior, preoccupation with substance or behavior, and continued use despite consequences. Habits and patterns associated with addiction are typically characterized by immediate gratification (short-term reward), coupled with delayed deleterious effects (long-term costs).
Examples of drug and behavioral addictions include:
- alcoholism,
- amphetamine addiction,
- cocaine addiction,
- nicotine addiction,
- opiate addiction,
- food addiction,
- gambling addiction,
- and sexual addiction.
The only behavioral addiction recognized by the DSM-5 is gambling addiction. The term addiction is misused frequently to refer to other compulsive behaviors or disorders, particularly dependence, in news media.
For further amplification, click on any of the following hyperlinks:
- Neuropsychology
- Behavioral addiction
- Risk factors
- Mechanisms
- Diagnosis
- Treatment
- Epidemiology
- Personality theories of addiction
- Notes
- References
- External links
Addictive Personality
YouTube Video: 9 Signs of an Addictive Personality
An addictive personality refers to a particular set of personality traits that make an individual predisposed to developing addictions.
This hypothesis states that there are common elements among people with varying addictions that relates to personality traits. People who are substance dependent are characterized by: a physical or psychological dependency that negatively affects their quality of life.
They are frequently connected with substance abuse; however, people with addictive personalities are also highly at risk of becoming addicted to:
Scientists have been better able to understand addictive personalities as researchers delve further into understanding the chemistry of addiction. Alan R. Lang of Florida State University, author of an addiction study prepared for the United States National Academy of Sciences, said, "If we can better identify the personality factors, they can help us devise better treatment and can open up new strategies to intervene and break the patterns of addiction.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
This hypothesis states that there are common elements among people with varying addictions that relates to personality traits. People who are substance dependent are characterized by: a physical or psychological dependency that negatively affects their quality of life.
They are frequently connected with substance abuse; however, people with addictive personalities are also highly at risk of becoming addicted to:
- gambling,
- food,
- pornography,
- exercise,
- work,
- and codependency.
Scientists have been better able to understand addictive personalities as researchers delve further into understanding the chemistry of addiction. Alan R. Lang of Florida State University, author of an addiction study prepared for the United States National Academy of Sciences, said, "If we can better identify the personality factors, they can help us devise better treatment and can open up new strategies to intervene and break the patterns of addiction.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:
- Description
- Biopsychosocial causes
- Signs and symptoms
- Personality traits and addiction
- Common forms of addictive behavior include:
- Relation to leadership
- Treatment
- Controversy
[Your Web Host: I lost my wife to lung cancer in 2008. Tobacco addiction is awful and difficult to overcome once addicted.]
American Tobacco Industry and Their Political Lobbying
YouTube Video about the Dangers of Smoking
YouTube Video 5 Ways to Resist the Urge to Smoke by the American Lung Association
YouTube Video of How Addiction Changes Your Brain by CNN
Tobacco has a long history in the United States. An estimated 45.3 million people, or 19.3% of all adults (aged 18 years or older), in the United States smoke cigarettes in 2010.
By state, in 2010, smoking prevalence ranged from 9.1% in Utah to 26.8% in West Virginia.
By region, in 2010, smoking prevalence was highest in the Midwest (21.8%) and South (21.0%) and lowest in the West (15.9%). In 2009 46.6 million, or 20.6 percent of adults 18 and older were current smokers. Men tend to smoke more than women. In 2009 23.5 percent of men smoked compared to 17.9 percent women.
Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, accounting for approximately 443,000 deaths, or 1 of every 5 deaths, in the United States each year. Cigarette smoking alone has cost the United States $96 billion in direct medical expenses and $97 billion in lost productivity per year or an average of $4,260 per adult smoker.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Tobacco use in the United States:
Tobacco Political Lobbying:
This sub-topic covers the politics of Tobacco lobbying:
Taxation: See also Cigarette taxes in the United States
Tobacco has been taxed by state governments in the United States for decades. The cumulative revenue of US tobacco taxation exceeded $32 billion in 2010, creating a major source of income for government.
The Contraband Cigarette Trafficking Act of 1978, a law which makes cigarette smuggling a felony punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison, is used to prosecute smugglers who avoid paying the taxes on cigarettes.
The proposed Stop Tobacco Smuggling in the Territories Act of 2013 (H.R. 338; 113th Congress), if it passes during the 113th United States Congress, would update the Contraband Cigarette Trafficking Act to include American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam, which were previously not covered by the law.
Lobby:
In 2010, the tobacco industry spent $16.6 million on lobbyists to represent the industry to Congress.
Major big tobacco lobbying companies include (in order of U.S. market share) Philip Morris, R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, and Lorillard Tobacco Co. The tobacco lobby lost a chunk of its support when the U.S. National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) filed charges against the Tobacco Institute, a tobacco industry advocacy group.
This resulted in the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement, which forced the organization to disband and place all records on a website.
Litigation:
The lawsuits brought against various tobacco manufacturers, attempting to hold them responsible for wrongful death, injury, or medical expenses related to cigarette smoking and other tobacco use. Cases have been brought both by individual plaintiffs and by government officials, including U.S. State Attorney General. Punitive damages for the plaintiff have often been awarded as a result of a successful litigation. However, the vast majority of court decisions have been in favor of the defendant tobacco companies.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Tobacco Lobbying:
By state, in 2010, smoking prevalence ranged from 9.1% in Utah to 26.8% in West Virginia.
By region, in 2010, smoking prevalence was highest in the Midwest (21.8%) and South (21.0%) and lowest in the West (15.9%). In 2009 46.6 million, or 20.6 percent of adults 18 and older were current smokers. Men tend to smoke more than women. In 2009 23.5 percent of men smoked compared to 17.9 percent women.
Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, accounting for approximately 443,000 deaths, or 1 of every 5 deaths, in the United States each year. Cigarette smoking alone has cost the United States $96 billion in direct medical expenses and $97 billion in lost productivity per year or an average of $4,260 per adult smoker.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Tobacco use in the United States:
- History of commercial tobacco
- Economic impact of the early tobacco industry
- Legislation
- Costs
- Companies and products
- Lobbying and organizations
- Critics
- See also:
- Prevalence of tobacco consumption#United States
- List of smoking bans in the United States
- Smoker Protection Law
- Steven C. Parrish, the Senior Vice President of Philip Morris
- C. C. Little - tobacco researcher
- Tobacco-Free Pharmacies
- Supreme Court Cases on Cigarettes, Smoking and Tobacco
Tobacco Political Lobbying:
This sub-topic covers the politics of Tobacco lobbying:
Taxation: See also Cigarette taxes in the United States
Tobacco has been taxed by state governments in the United States for decades. The cumulative revenue of US tobacco taxation exceeded $32 billion in 2010, creating a major source of income for government.
The Contraband Cigarette Trafficking Act of 1978, a law which makes cigarette smuggling a felony punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison, is used to prosecute smugglers who avoid paying the taxes on cigarettes.
The proposed Stop Tobacco Smuggling in the Territories Act of 2013 (H.R. 338; 113th Congress), if it passes during the 113th United States Congress, would update the Contraband Cigarette Trafficking Act to include American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam, which were previously not covered by the law.
Lobby:
In 2010, the tobacco industry spent $16.6 million on lobbyists to represent the industry to Congress.
Major big tobacco lobbying companies include (in order of U.S. market share) Philip Morris, R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, and Lorillard Tobacco Co. The tobacco lobby lost a chunk of its support when the U.S. National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) filed charges against the Tobacco Institute, a tobacco industry advocacy group.
This resulted in the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement, which forced the organization to disband and place all records on a website.
Litigation:
The lawsuits brought against various tobacco manufacturers, attempting to hold them responsible for wrongful death, injury, or medical expenses related to cigarette smoking and other tobacco use. Cases have been brought both by individual plaintiffs and by government officials, including U.S. State Attorney General. Punitive damages for the plaintiff have often been awarded as a result of a successful litigation. However, the vast majority of court decisions have been in favor of the defendant tobacco companies.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Tobacco Lobbying:
- History
- See also:
- A Frank Statement
- Operation Berkshire
- Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement
- Tobacco MSA (Alabama)
- Tobacco MSA (Hawaii)
- Tobacco MSA (New York)
- Merchants of Doubt and 2014 film Merchants of Doubt based on the 2010 book.
- No-Smoking.org
- Tobacco Institute Documents-Part of Master Settlement Agreement
- UCSF Tobacco Industry Videos Collection
- UCSF Tobacco Industry Audio Recordings Collection
- State and Local Tax Revenue, Selected Years 1977-2006
Substance Abuse
YouTube Video: 6 Signs of Substance Abuse and Addiction
YouTube Video: Teen Rx Drug Addiction by CBS News
Picture Below: The Physical harm, Dependence liability, and Social harm scores were each computed from the average of three distinct ratings. The highest possible harm rating for each rating scale is 3.0.
Physical harm is the average rating of the scores for acute binge use, chronic use, and intravenous use.
Dependence liability is the average rating of the scores for intensity of pleasure, psychological dependence, and physical dependence.
Social harm is the average rating of the scores for drug intoxication, health-care costs, and other social harms.
Total harm was computed as the average of the Physical harm, Dependence liability, and Social harm scores.
Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is a patterned use of a drug in which the user consumes the substance in amounts or with methods which are harmful to themselves or others, and is a form of substance-related disorder.
Widely differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, medical and criminal justice contexts. In some cases criminal or anti-social behavior occurs when the person is under the influence of a drug, and long term personality changes in individuals may occur as well.
In addition to possible physical, social, and psychological harm, use of some drugs may also lead to criminal penalties, although these vary widely depending on the local jurisdiction.
Drugs most often associated with this term include the following:
The exact cause of substance abuse is not clear, with the two predominant theories being: either a genetic disposition which is learned from others, or a habit which if addiction develops, manifests itself as a chronic debilitating disease.
In 2010 about 5% of people (230 million) used an illicit substance. Of these 27 million have high-risk drug use otherwise known as recurrent drug use causing harm to their health, psychological problems, or social problems or puts them at risk of those dangers.
In 2015 substance use disorders resulted in 307,400 deaths, up from 165,000 deaths in 1990. Of these, the highest numbers are from the following:
Classifications:
Public health definitions:
Public health practitioners have attempted to look at substance use from a broader perspective than the individual, emphasizing the role of society, culture, and availability. Some health professionals choose to avoid the terms alcohol or drug "abuse" in favor of language they consider more objective, such as "substance and alcohol type problems" or "harmful/problematic use" of drugs.
The Health Officers Council of British Columbia — in their 2005 policy discussion paper, A Public Health Approach to Drug Control in Canada] — has adopted a public health model of psychoactive substance use that challenges the simplistic black-and-white construction of the binary (or complementary) antonyms"use" vs. "abuse". This model explicitly recognizes a spectrum of use, ranging from beneficial use to chronic dependence.
Medical definitions:
'Drug abuse' is no longer a current medical diagnosis in either of the most used diagnostic tools in the world, the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), and the World Health Organization's International Statistical Classification of Diseases (ICD).
Substance abuse has been adopted by the DSM as a blanket term to include 10 separate classes of drugs, including alcohol; caffeine; cannabis; hallucinogens; inhalants; opioids; sedatives, hypnotics, and anxiolytics; stimulants; tobacco; and other substances.
The ICD uses the term Harmful use to cover physical or psychological harm to the user from use.
Physical dependence, abuse of, and withdrawal from drugs and other miscellaneous substances is outlined in the DSM:
However, other definitions differ; they may entail psychological or physical dependence, and may focus on treatment and prevention in terms of the social consequences of substance uses.
Value Judgment:
Philip Jenkins suggests that there are two issues with the term "drug abuse". First, what constitutes a "drug" is debatable. For instance, GHB, a naturally occurring substance in the central nervous system is considered a drug, and is illegal in many countries, while nicotine is not officially considered a drug in most countries.
Second, the word "abuse" implies a recognized standard of use for any substance. Drinking an occasional glass of wine is considered acceptable in most Western countries, while drinking several bottles is seen as an abuse. Strict temperance advocates, who may or may not be religiously motivated, would see drinking even one glass as an abuse. Some groups even condemn caffeine use in any quantity.
Similarly, adopting the view that any (recreational) use of cannabis or substituted amphetamines constitutes drug abuse implies a decision made that the substance is harmful, even in minute quantities.
In the U.S., drugs have been legally classified into five categories, schedule I, II, III, IV, or V in the Controlled Substances Act. The drugs are classified on their deemed potential for abuse.
Usage of some drugs is strongly correlated. For example, the consumption of seven illicit drugs (amphetamines, cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy, legal highs, LSD, and magic mushrooms) is correlated and the Pearson correlation coefficient r>0.4 in every pair of them; consumption of cannabis is strongly correlated (r>0.5) with usage of nicotine (tobacco), heroin is correlated with cocaine (r>0.4), methadone (r>0.45), and strongly correlated with crack (r>0.5)
Drug Misuse:
Drug misuse is a term used commonly when prescription medication with sedative, anxiolytic, analgesic, or stimulant properties are used for mood alteration or intoxication ignoring the fact that overdose of such medicines can sometimes have serious adverse effects. It sometimes involves drug diversion from the individual for whom it was prescribed.
Prescription misuse has been defined differently and rather inconsistently based on status of drug prescription, the uses without a prescription, intentional use to achieve intoxicating effects, route of administration, co-ingestion with alcohol, and the presence or absence of dependence symptoms.
Chronic use of certain substances leads to a change in the central nervous system known as a 'tolerance' to the medicine such that more of the substance is needed in order to produce desired effects. With some substances, stopping or reducing use can cause withdrawal symptoms to occur, but this is highly dependent on the specific substance in question.
The rate of prescription drug use is fast overtaking illegal drug use in the United States. According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, 7 million people were taking prescription drugs for non-medical use in 2010. Among 12th graders, non-medical prescription drug use is now second only to cannabis. "Nearly 1 in 12 high school seniors reported non-medical use of Vicodin; 1 in 20 reported such use of OxyContin." Both of these drugs contain opioids.
Avenues of obtaining prescription drugs for misuse are varied: sharing between family and friends, illegally buying medications at school or work, and often "doctor shopping" to find multiple physicians to prescribe the same medication, without knowledge of other prescribers.
Increasingly, law enforcement is holding physicians responsible for prescribing controlled substances without fully establishing patient controls, such as a patient "drug contract." Concerned physicians are educating themselves on how to identify medication-seeking behavior in their patients, and are becoming familiar with "red flags" that would alert them to potential prescription drug abuse.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Substance Abuse:
Widely differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, medical and criminal justice contexts. In some cases criminal or anti-social behavior occurs when the person is under the influence of a drug, and long term personality changes in individuals may occur as well.
In addition to possible physical, social, and psychological harm, use of some drugs may also lead to criminal penalties, although these vary widely depending on the local jurisdiction.
Drugs most often associated with this term include the following:
- alcohol,
- cannabis,
- barbiturates,
- benzodiazepines,
- cocaine,
- methaqualone,
- opioids,
- and some substituted amphetamines.
The exact cause of substance abuse is not clear, with the two predominant theories being: either a genetic disposition which is learned from others, or a habit which if addiction develops, manifests itself as a chronic debilitating disease.
In 2010 about 5% of people (230 million) used an illicit substance. Of these 27 million have high-risk drug use otherwise known as recurrent drug use causing harm to their health, psychological problems, or social problems or puts them at risk of those dangers.
In 2015 substance use disorders resulted in 307,400 deaths, up from 165,000 deaths in 1990. Of these, the highest numbers are from the following:
- alcohol use disorders at 137,500 deaths,
- opioid use disorders at 122,100 deaths,
- amphetamine use disorders at 12,200 deaths,
- and cocaine use disorders at 11,100.
Classifications:
Public health definitions:
Public health practitioners have attempted to look at substance use from a broader perspective than the individual, emphasizing the role of society, culture, and availability. Some health professionals choose to avoid the terms alcohol or drug "abuse" in favor of language they consider more objective, such as "substance and alcohol type problems" or "harmful/problematic use" of drugs.
The Health Officers Council of British Columbia — in their 2005 policy discussion paper, A Public Health Approach to Drug Control in Canada] — has adopted a public health model of psychoactive substance use that challenges the simplistic black-and-white construction of the binary (or complementary) antonyms"use" vs. "abuse". This model explicitly recognizes a spectrum of use, ranging from beneficial use to chronic dependence.
Medical definitions:
'Drug abuse' is no longer a current medical diagnosis in either of the most used diagnostic tools in the world, the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), and the World Health Organization's International Statistical Classification of Diseases (ICD).
Substance abuse has been adopted by the DSM as a blanket term to include 10 separate classes of drugs, including alcohol; caffeine; cannabis; hallucinogens; inhalants; opioids; sedatives, hypnotics, and anxiolytics; stimulants; tobacco; and other substances.
The ICD uses the term Harmful use to cover physical or psychological harm to the user from use.
Physical dependence, abuse of, and withdrawal from drugs and other miscellaneous substances is outlined in the DSM:
- When an individual persists in use of alcohol or other drugs despite problems related to use of the substance, substance dependence may be diagnosed. Compulsive and repetitive use may result in tolerance to the effect of the drug and withdrawal symptoms when use is reduced or stopped.
However, other definitions differ; they may entail psychological or physical dependence, and may focus on treatment and prevention in terms of the social consequences of substance uses.
Value Judgment:
Philip Jenkins suggests that there are two issues with the term "drug abuse". First, what constitutes a "drug" is debatable. For instance, GHB, a naturally occurring substance in the central nervous system is considered a drug, and is illegal in many countries, while nicotine is not officially considered a drug in most countries.
Second, the word "abuse" implies a recognized standard of use for any substance. Drinking an occasional glass of wine is considered acceptable in most Western countries, while drinking several bottles is seen as an abuse. Strict temperance advocates, who may or may not be religiously motivated, would see drinking even one glass as an abuse. Some groups even condemn caffeine use in any quantity.
Similarly, adopting the view that any (recreational) use of cannabis or substituted amphetamines constitutes drug abuse implies a decision made that the substance is harmful, even in minute quantities.
In the U.S., drugs have been legally classified into five categories, schedule I, II, III, IV, or V in the Controlled Substances Act. The drugs are classified on their deemed potential for abuse.
Usage of some drugs is strongly correlated. For example, the consumption of seven illicit drugs (amphetamines, cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy, legal highs, LSD, and magic mushrooms) is correlated and the Pearson correlation coefficient r>0.4 in every pair of them; consumption of cannabis is strongly correlated (r>0.5) with usage of nicotine (tobacco), heroin is correlated with cocaine (r>0.4), methadone (r>0.45), and strongly correlated with crack (r>0.5)
Drug Misuse:
Drug misuse is a term used commonly when prescription medication with sedative, anxiolytic, analgesic, or stimulant properties are used for mood alteration or intoxication ignoring the fact that overdose of such medicines can sometimes have serious adverse effects. It sometimes involves drug diversion from the individual for whom it was prescribed.
Prescription misuse has been defined differently and rather inconsistently based on status of drug prescription, the uses without a prescription, intentional use to achieve intoxicating effects, route of administration, co-ingestion with alcohol, and the presence or absence of dependence symptoms.
Chronic use of certain substances leads to a change in the central nervous system known as a 'tolerance' to the medicine such that more of the substance is needed in order to produce desired effects. With some substances, stopping or reducing use can cause withdrawal symptoms to occur, but this is highly dependent on the specific substance in question.
The rate of prescription drug use is fast overtaking illegal drug use in the United States. According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, 7 million people were taking prescription drugs for non-medical use in 2010. Among 12th graders, non-medical prescription drug use is now second only to cannabis. "Nearly 1 in 12 high school seniors reported non-medical use of Vicodin; 1 in 20 reported such use of OxyContin." Both of these drugs contain opioids.
Avenues of obtaining prescription drugs for misuse are varied: sharing between family and friends, illegally buying medications at school or work, and often "doctor shopping" to find multiple physicians to prescribe the same medication, without knowledge of other prescribers.
Increasingly, law enforcement is holding physicians responsible for prescribing controlled substances without fully establishing patient controls, such as a patient "drug contract." Concerned physicians are educating themselves on how to identify medication-seeking behavior in their patients, and are becoming familiar with "red flags" that would alert them to potential prescription drug abuse.
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Substance Abuse:
- Signs and symptoms
- Treatment Psychological
- Epidemiology
- History
- Society and culture
- Special populations
- See also:
- ΔFosB
- Addictive personality
- Alcohol abuse
- Combined drug intoxication
- Controlled Substances Act
- Drug addiction
- Drug overdose
- List of controlled drugs in the United Kingdom
- List of deaths from drug overdose and intoxication
- Harm reduction
- Low-threshold treatment programs
- Needle-exchange programme
- Poly drug use
- Polysubstance abuse
- Substance use disorder
- Adverse Childhood Experiences: Risk Factors for Substance Misuse and Mental Health Dr. Robert Anda of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control describes the relation between childhood adversity and later ill-health, including substance abuse (video)
- The National Institute on Drug Abuse
The Opioid Epidemic
YouTube Video: One Nation, Overdosed: Documentary On The Deadliest Drug Crisis In American History (Full) by MSNBC
YouTube Video: Boundaries in Recovery - Betty Ford* Center
* -- Betty Ford was the wife of President Gerald Ford
Pictured below: Overdose Deaths Involving Opioids, United States, 2000–2015. Deaths per 100,000 population.
The opioid epidemic or opioid crisis is the rapid increase in the use of prescription and non-prescription opioid drugs in the United States and Canada beginning in the late 1990s and continuing throughout the first two decades of the 2000s.
Opioids are a diverse class of moderately strong painkillers, including oxycodone (commonly sold under the trade names OxyContin and Percocet), hydrocodone (Vicodin), and a very strong painkiller, fentanyl, which is synthesized to resemble other opiates such as opium-derived morphine and heroin.
The potency and availability of these substances, despite their high risk of addiction and overdose, have made them popular both as formal medical treatments and as recreational drugs. Due to their sedative effects on the part of the brain which regulates breathing, opioids in high doses present the potential for respiratory depression, and may cause respiratory failure and death.
According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, "overdose deaths, particularly from prescription drugs and heroin, have reached epidemic levels". Nearly half of all opioid overdose deaths in 2016 involved prescription opioids. From 1999 to 2008, overdose death rates, sales, and substance abuse treatment admissions related to opioid pain relievers all increased substantially. By 2015, annual overdose deaths from heroin alone surpassed deaths from both car accidents and guns, with other opioid overdose deaths also on the rise.
Drug overdoses have since become the leading cause of death of Americans under 50, with two-thirds of those deaths from opioids. In 2016, the crisis decreased overall life expectancy of Americans for the second consecutive year.
Overall life expectancy fell from 78.7 to 78.6 years. Men were disproportionally more affected due to higher overdose death rates, with life expectancy declining from 76.3 to 76.1 years. Women’s life expectancy remained stable at 81.1 years.
In 2016, over 64,000 Americans died from overdoses, 21 percent more than the almost 53,000 in 2015. By comparison, the figure was 16,000 in 2010, and 4,000 in 1999.
While death rates varied by state, public health experts estimate that nationwide over 500,000 people could die from the epidemic over the next 10 years. In Canada, half of the overdoses were accidental, while a third was intentional. The remainder were unknown. Many of the deaths are from an extremely potent opioid, fentanyl, which is trafficked from Mexico.
The epidemic cost the United States an estimated $504 billion in 2015.
CDC director Thomas Frieden said that "America is awash in opioids; urgent action is critical." The crisis has changed moral, social, and cultural resistance to street drug alternatives such as heroin. In March 2017, Larry Hogan, the governor of Maryland, declared a state of emergency to combat the opioid epidemic, and in July 2017 opioid addiction was cited as the "FDA's biggest crisis." On October 26, 2017, President Donald Trump concurred with his Commission's report and declared the country's opioid crisis a "public health emergency."
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about the Opioid Epidemic:
Opioids are a diverse class of moderately strong painkillers, including oxycodone (commonly sold under the trade names OxyContin and Percocet), hydrocodone (Vicodin), and a very strong painkiller, fentanyl, which is synthesized to resemble other opiates such as opium-derived morphine and heroin.
The potency and availability of these substances, despite their high risk of addiction and overdose, have made them popular both as formal medical treatments and as recreational drugs. Due to their sedative effects on the part of the brain which regulates breathing, opioids in high doses present the potential for respiratory depression, and may cause respiratory failure and death.
According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, "overdose deaths, particularly from prescription drugs and heroin, have reached epidemic levels". Nearly half of all opioid overdose deaths in 2016 involved prescription opioids. From 1999 to 2008, overdose death rates, sales, and substance abuse treatment admissions related to opioid pain relievers all increased substantially. By 2015, annual overdose deaths from heroin alone surpassed deaths from both car accidents and guns, with other opioid overdose deaths also on the rise.
Drug overdoses have since become the leading cause of death of Americans under 50, with two-thirds of those deaths from opioids. In 2016, the crisis decreased overall life expectancy of Americans for the second consecutive year.
Overall life expectancy fell from 78.7 to 78.6 years. Men were disproportionally more affected due to higher overdose death rates, with life expectancy declining from 76.3 to 76.1 years. Women’s life expectancy remained stable at 81.1 years.
In 2016, over 64,000 Americans died from overdoses, 21 percent more than the almost 53,000 in 2015. By comparison, the figure was 16,000 in 2010, and 4,000 in 1999.
While death rates varied by state, public health experts estimate that nationwide over 500,000 people could die from the epidemic over the next 10 years. In Canada, half of the overdoses were accidental, while a third was intentional. The remainder were unknown. Many of the deaths are from an extremely potent opioid, fentanyl, which is trafficked from Mexico.
The epidemic cost the United States an estimated $504 billion in 2015.
CDC director Thomas Frieden said that "America is awash in opioids; urgent action is critical." The crisis has changed moral, social, and cultural resistance to street drug alternatives such as heroin. In March 2017, Larry Hogan, the governor of Maryland, declared a state of emergency to combat the opioid epidemic, and in July 2017 opioid addiction was cited as the "FDA's biggest crisis." On October 26, 2017, President Donald Trump concurred with his Commission's report and declared the country's opioid crisis a "public health emergency."
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about the Opioid Epidemic: